The New Dark Lord
by Baryon Lancer
Summary: In the aftermath of the Battle of Minato Mirai, Tsukune and the gang must try to return to their normal lives and deal with the pain of their loses as the world comes to grips with the fact that Monsters really do exist.
1. Long Night I

It sparkled as it flew through the air, picking up the last gleams of the now dying light. Tiny pieces of its fractured red cat's eye jewel dripped from it like blood from an open wound.

When he grabbed it from the air, it cut the palm of his hand.

The wound healed within seconds.

Both were a gift…from her.

The bright light that had enveloped them all just seconds before had faded into the night sky just as her life had faded away with it.

The world, once spinning completely out of control, had finally come to a sudden and jarring stop.

Minato Mirai was finally silent.

The only sound that could be heard now in all the night covered rubble and devastation, was the sounds of his own sobbing.

She was gone now, forever; and his world would never be the same again.

Then out of nowhere, her arms surrounded him and he could smell her familiar scent. She laid her head on his back and she cried with him.

He then remembered how selfish he was being.

She had just lost a sister and her mother, again.

All he had lost was... nothing.

That was because for him there is only…

….and there has only ever been…..

.…one Moka.

He turned around inside her embrace and wrapped her in his own arms as she released all her pain into his chest through great sobs and muffled screams.

When she had finally exhausted herself, he tilted her chin up and they looked into each other's red and tearful eyes.

Together they shared their pain, and together, they would learn to live with it.

The world chose that very moment to begin spinning once more.

A flight of four fighter jets, with the red circle surrounded by white on the outer edge, emblazoned on their wings, screamed past their position several hundred meters overhead.

"Guys, we need to get out of here!"

They turned towards their companions at last with these rare words of wisdom from Ginei.

Akua added additional emphasis to the sudden urgency.

"Yeah, like yesterday!"

"Well, that might be a problem!"

Kurumu was pointing down one of only two clear paths from their current position. They could all see a group of heavily armed Self-Defense Forces men rapidly approaching their position.

"It's not much better over here either!"

From the direction Xia-Long was indicating, several well-armed all-terrain vehicles were approaching.

"First Monsters! Now human soldiers! What next?"

Kokoa's frustration was understandable.

"Moka, Ruby, Kurumu, San!"

All four turned their attention immediately to Tsukune.

"We five can fly, so we need to take the others to a safer location from which we all can successfully evacuate."

"Great idea! Too bad we can't!"

With Haiji's words, another flight of four Self-Defense Forces fighters buzzed them from above.

"Yeah, not without taking them out first!"

Fong-Fong was right. There was no way past either the ground forces or their air cover now without inflicting harm on the humans in some form.

"We can't fight them! That's the last thing the Dark Lords would have wanted us to do!"

Yukari had taken the words right out of Tsukune's mouth.

"There's no choice then."

He had barely spoken the words where even his own ears could hear them, but somehow everyone turned towards him in that instant with concern showing in their eyes.

Feeling the pressure of their anxiety and fear on him now, Tsukune braced himself and spoke out again.

"We have to split them up! So…"

He could feel Moka tense beside him in anticipation of his next words.

"…..I'll distract them, while you guys try to slip away. I'm the only one the human authorities could hope to…"

The pain of something hard slamming into the right side of his face made Tsukune stagger and drop down to his left knee. It took several seconds of head shaking for his vision to refocus. Once it did he looked up to see what sledgehammer had hit him.

Silver hair blowing in strands through the night wind and glowing angry red eyes looked down at him. A clenched fist hovered far too close to his face for his comfort.

"How dare you!"

Despite her anger, she was still crying, and still exquisitely beautiful.

"I will never leave your side! How could you even suggest it?"

"I live and die beside my Tsukune-kun!"

Kurumu was not one to let Moka one-up her on devotion to Tsukune, even in this tense of a situation.

"I am ready to die beside my love!"

Not to be outdone by either, Mizore added on as well.

"Guys, we can't….."

Tsukune's protest was cut off before he could finish his protest.

"There's a vehicle approaching!"

Ling-Ling directed everyone's attention to a set of headlights that appeared as if out of nowhere just meters away. Everyone immediately braced for combat.

"What the…."

The vehicle's tires made a resounding screech as it came to an abrupt stop just meters away.

The door swung open, and an all too familiar voice called out to them from beneath the darkness of a visor cap.

"You guys looking to make more new friends tonight, or would you just rather go home now?"

Multiple voices erupted in surprise and shock.

"BUS DRIVER!"

His normally devious smile was a bit more subdued than usual.

"Get a move on kids! Your new friends don't look like they want you to leave just yet!"

Everyone began piling onto the bus.

Tsukune immediately took up position guarding the bus door beside Gin and Haiji as the others rapidly piled into the bus.

As the last of them were preparing to enter, it was then they heard a piercing scream for help.

"Onee-SAMA!"

Turning, they could see that Kokoa was standing still and pulling at her own leg. She looked like she was having an issue removing her foot from something.

"KOKOA!"

Moka screamed from an open bus window and began to move to retrieve her imouto. At that moment the foot soldiers of the Self-Defense Forces stopped only meters from Kokoa position and leveled their rifles at the bus, with her right in the middle of their lines of fire.

Kokoa reflexively cringed.

" _Oh God! This is going to hurt!"_

As a vampire, she'd probably live through it, but a hail of bullets was going to be merriclously painful.

"Halt! Or we'll…"

Their leader never finished his statement.

A blinding flash of light reflecting off metal made them all squint their eyes. Only after blinking their eyes for a few seconds did they see that the barrels of their rifles now lay useless on the ground in before them.

"What the…."

Where before a teenage girl with orange twin pig-tail hair had stood, was now a metallic cone with a notch near the top.

Glaring from that notch in the cone were red eyes and silver-white hair.

Inside that protective metal cone, Kokoa looked up in amazement at the face of her rescuer.

Reaching down beside caught left leg with their own left arm, the rescuer took a hold of something and she could feel a powerful lurch freeing her trapped foot.

It wasn't her foot that had been moved through.

It was a steel I-beam of several hundred kilograms in weight.

The metallic cone split open as the soldiers flinched at the sight of a massive steel I-beam hurtling through the air over their heads, coming down in a crash behind them to their obvious amazement.

They barely had time to turn back around to see the sheets of protective metal spread outwards like great bat wings, completely covering the bus as the silver-haired owner of those wings flew backward with Kokoa secure in his arms.

"OH! Tsukune!"

Moka called out to him as he landed with Kokoa in his arms right beside the bus. She was already inside the bus's doorway waiting for them.

Kokoa looked up into Tsukune's face as he glared past her towards the stunned faces of the soldiers. Her hands were now resting lifelessly on his chest. The look of amazement in her eyes was plain for the witnesses to see. Not only had he jerked the I-beam free and tossed it like a toy, but he had pulled it free from under even heavier clumps of concrete and rebar to do so.

"….Tsukune?"

With her stunned one word question, he looked down at her at last with an awkward smile and a slight blush to his cheeks, but at that very moment he suddenly pulled up the left wing and braced himself and her.

A swarm of flame accompanied the hard metallic "thud" sound and the ear-splitting shriek of high explosives as a missile detonated against his left wing. They lurched half a meter to their right under the force of the explosion, but he never lost his footing or his protective posture.

"TSUKUNE!"

Having taken the full impact in stride, he lowered his wing just enough to see a military vehicle bearing down on the bus from behind with what looked like a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on top of it.

A soldier was furiously reloading the grenade launcher for the next assualt.

"Get on the bus."

With his calm and steady command, Moka, who now had the stunned Kokoa by the arm, pulled her still listless little sister into the doorway.

"Move it!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Bus Driver did as Moka commanded, shifted gears, and the bus started rolling forward.

"We can't just leave him!"

Kurumu, Mizori, Yukari, and Ruby all screamed out in unison at the Bus Driver.

"Don't worry ladies….."

He smirked at them in the rearview mirror as he maneuvered past the rubble in the roadway.

"….he won't be too long."

Just then they saw to their surprise a large grenade launcher flying past them on the left side. It was clear it had been wrenched from its mount on top of the vehicle it was previously attached to and flung through the air.

Suddenly the rear door of the bus opened and Tsukune walked through.

"TSUKUNE!"

As he walked in the great metallic wings seemed to melt away into the night air.

"I assume you have a plan to get us out of here?"

Bus Driver only smiled back in the rearview mirror at Tsukune and laughed.

"Well, kind of."

"KIND OF?"

Every voice on the bus rang out in stunned unison, which only made the Bus Driver's laugh become even more maniacal.

He shifted the gears and the bus lurched forward.

"I like to play it by ear, as they say."

A few seconds later, he turned the wheel hard to the right as a projectile of some sort screamed past within inches of the left side of the bus. Once everyone returned to an upright position, he asked a seemingly innocent question over his left shoulder.

"Sorry to impose Miss Ruby, but is there any way you can do something to keep the bus scratch free?"

Stunned at first to be called out, Ruby recovered quickly.

"OH! Of course!"

As she rose to stand in the aisle, her long staff-wand suddenly appeared in her hand. She planted the long end of the wand in the middle of the aisle and as she began to chant, a sudden energy wave seemed to emanate from her glowing wand orb and envelop the entire bus.

Not a moment too soon, as a similar projectile as the one before slammed into the front of the bus with blinding results.

"AWAWAWAW!"

The bright flames of its explosion radiated across the front of the bus, but never reached the interior.

"Holy…"

Haiji, sitting on the left side near the front, had covered his eyes with his arm like everyone else. Now he turned back with admiration showing on his face.

"Way to go Miss Ruby!"

Ruby, holding out her wand with the glowing sphere at the center of her radiating a purple-hued light, blushed slightly at the praise.

"Please, we're almost the same age, just Ruby is fine."

"Do you need help Ruby-chan?"

Her fellow witch Yukari asked with obvious concern on her face. It hadn't been too long before when Ruby had undergone the painfully ordeal of wearing the Iron Maiden.

"I just need someone to keep me upright as we turn hard."

"I've got you."

Tsukune rose and stood behind her. Then, after planting his feet securely between the benches next to them, he wrapped both his arms around Ruby's midsection.

She took a hard breath in at his sudden embrace of her, and no one towards the front of them could have helped but noticed how much she now blushed inside his steadying arms.

More than a few of the ladies on board looked a bit put off by the "help" Ruby was receiving from Tsukune.

None of them had more time for their jealousy to fester though, as the need for Tsukune's support was immediately justified.

More than a few tumbled from their seats as the Bus Driver made another hard right turn.

"What the hell you crazy old..."

Kokoa's angry question received an immediate answer as the road and rubble behind them exploded into a great fireball.

"These guys aren't playing!"

Akua was right. Another quick turn, this time to the left, was due to a much closer projectile detonation that sent a radiating explosion around Ruby's magic shield near the back of the bus.

"Are they really trying to kill us?"

Fong-Fong's question was answered as another missile slammed into the right side of the bus full on. The entire bus rolled over on its side and flipped over landing on its wheels again.

No one had fallen from their seats though.

From her position secure in Tsukune's arms, Ruby directed praise to the one responsible.

"Excellent Yukari!"

Yukari blushed with her glowing star shaped wand in her hands.

"Ah! It was nothing."

The Bus Driver never missed a beat and shifted gears again as the bus took off again in a new direction.

"You know kids, I think we need to find a place to park this big thing."

"WHAT?"

* * *

The tension inside the command center was high as uniformed officers raced from one station to another, talking into the ears of the technicians running the consoles that didn't have an earpiece already in it.

On the large screens in front of them all, various angles of the capture operation in Minato Mirai were being shown.

From the large center screen, a drone's eye view of the urban battlefield was projected for them.

Shown on that screen was a plain and slightly old looking school bus that seemed impervious to attack, flying around corners with a mobility no vehicle like that should be capable of by the Laws of Physics.

"Sir!"

A subordinate with a headset on approached and requested permission to speak.

The general nodded his head as an answer.

"Sector 2 commander reports that all exits in his sector have been secured. The targets are now trapped within a four square kilometer area. There's nowhere for them to escape to."

"Very good."

The general turned and looked at the live video feeds running before him. On one side was a display of the city map with the "target" shown in red and the Self-Defense Forces in green either following the target or waiting to catch them up ahead.

"Very good. Tell the sector commanders to pull back on the weaponry. Only use it to force them towards the park."

A large open space in the general direction the target was heading had already been designated as the place to end this chase, one way or another.

"As planned, we'll give them one chance to surrender and then we'll….."

"Sir!"

The voice of a young female officer, his assistant, interrupted him.

"Better be damned important for you to….."

"Sir."

She looked on in slight fear of his anger but pressed on.

"It is Sir."

She paused to collect herself and then delivered her information.

"It's a call for you Sir."

The general twisted his mouth in contempt, but her next words made his jaw go slack.

"It's from the Kantei Sir."

As his jaw slackened his eyes went a little wide. The young officer reporting to him beforehand joined him with an even more surprised expression.

"Are you sure?"

After asking such an obviously pointless question he shook his head in dismay at himself.

"Put it through."

The red light on the desk phone at his console began blinking a few seconds later. He took a deep breath to steady himself before picking up the receiver and pushing the red light to connect the call.

"This is General….."

He stopped speaking for a few seconds before talking again.

"Yes Sir, I recognize your voice."

Then as he listened some more, his face began to contort with obviously aggravated expressions.

"Sir, I wouldn't recommend…"

More than a few eyes in the room now looked back towards where the general was standing behind the command station.

"No Sir! I fully understand…"

You could feel the tension radiating from the general throughout the entire command center now.

"Sir, the situation on the ground…."

Then the general seemed to deflate at the orders he had apparently just received.

"Yes, Sir. Immediately Sir."

He hung up the phone and placed both his hands out on the console before him, hanging his head down between his now drooping shoulders. After a few steadying breathes he gave new orders.

"Effective immediately! Weapons hold! I repeat, weapons hold! Transmit to all field units and request confirmation!"

He seemed lost in his own world after speaking, but soon realized that with his new orders he had stunned his audience into confused inactivity.

"NOW PEOPLE!"

His anger had finally broken the spell on them and once again the commander center erupted into a hornets nest of activity.

* * *

"That's weird."

Everyone turned towards Fong-Fong when he said this. Realizing he had been overheard by everyone, he quickly explained himself.

"Just a minute ago we were under constant missile attack."

He turned back to look at the passing but silent city streets the bus was driving through.

"Now we're just being monitored by those helicopters."

It was true, outside of three helicopters following them all the military personnel had seemed to have pulled back.

"Somethings not right."

All eyes turned towards Mizore now.

"They're herding us somewhere."

"Up ahead!"

Gin's sudden outburst made them all look forward.

"TANKS!"

Two tanks lowered their barrels at the bus.

"Get ready Miss Ruby!"

At Bus Driver's sound advice Ruby intensified her protective barrier around the bus.

Nothing came.

"Why aren't they shooting?"

Kokoa's question had no answer.

"Not sure, but we aren't sticking around to find out."

Bus Driver threw the bus into a hard left turn, sending several of them careening towards the right side of the bus.

"Look there!"

Haiji's extended finger pointed in the direction of four all-terrain vehicles moving at high speed towards them from the road on their left.

Kurumu cried out next.

"Over here too!"

From the right, more all-terrain vehicles approached at high speed.

"Hold on!"

Another high-speed turn sent them slamming into the bus's left side.

"OH NO!"

Yukari's desperate cry was shared by all present. To the front, a third column of military assault vehicles was bearing down on them.

"We're trapped."

Moka's calm statement of fact belied her obvious inner turmoil.

"Don't worry kids."

Bus Driver just laughed off the tense situation.

"I finally found a good parking space."

"WHAT?"

His maniacal laughter returned, and then he made a sharp turn to the right….

…into an underground parking garage.

* * *

The entire command center was stunned by what they had just witnessed on the video feed.

"Did that thing really just turn into an underground parking garage?"

Even now the officers stared at the screen without full comprehension as the assault squad vehicles following close on the heels of the target, into the depths of the parking garage.

The young lady officer's question was understandable.

"Is there another exit to that parking garage?"

The general's question made the technicians at their console begin to furiously scroll through data on their screens.

"Sir!"

One young man popped up to answer a few moments later.

"No Sir! There are no other exits to that parking garage, Sir."

The general began to laugh.

"Well I have no idea what the driver is thinking, but they are as good as ours now."

He then turned to the technician at the communications board and barked out instructions.

"Remind everyone there's a weapons hold."

He then sat back down and smiled.

"We, apparently, want these things…alive."

* * *

"What the hell are you thinking?"

Kurumu's angry question was shared in the thoughts of all on board the bus, if not with as much vitriol.

All the Bus Driver did was give that creepy laugh of his and shift gears as the bus took another one hundred and eighty degrees turn further down into the underground parking structure.

"I hope you have a plan!"

Tsukune's statement only made the Bus Driver laugh some more.

"Whatever it is, these troops are still with us."

Ling-Ling was right. The headlights of several vehicles pursuing them at high speed down into the parking garage were only meters behind them.

The bus took another full turn then. It was at this point the gang finally saw a wall ahead of them.

"WHAT THE…."

In bright red kanji on the wall spelled out "STOP, no exit".

"BUS DRIVER!"

He began to laugh like a madman and shifted gears as the bus accelerated towards oblivion.

The last thing they heard before the coming impact was their own screams of terror, and a crazy man laughing.

* * *

"WHAT?"

Everyone turned at the sudden sound of the general screaming into a headset.

"They just DISAPPEARED?"

He was furious.

"Tunnel of light? Are you some kind of idiot? Buses don't just disappear! I swear you'll be watching Russians and scrubbing toilets in the emptiest northern reaches of Hokkaido for the rest of your career mister!"

All the nervous technicians could do was stare at each other with concern, and commiserate in their hearts with the poor guy on the other end of that phone call.

* * *

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the bus came to a slow and steady stop.

They were on some darkened street somewhere in the human world that only God and Bus Driver knew of.

"You could have told us you were going to teleport the bus."

Akua said this in a surprisingly calm voice as Bus Driver smiled back at her in the rearview mirror.

"Sure, I could have."

Then his smile took on that same dangerous look he was now famous for.

"But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun."

"Sadistic bastard!"

Kokoa's angry words only made him laugh more, as he relight his cigar.

"So glad you enjoyed yourself, young lady."

"Wait, is this…"

Xia-Long's stunned words elicited an immediate response from his companion Routier.

"It IS!"

The bus doors swung open then.

"I believe this is you two's stop."

Xia-Long nodded to Bus Driver as confirmation and they both stood up to leave.

"I can't tell you how much your help meant to us tonight."

Tsukune, still on his feet, extended his hand to a stunned Xia-Long, who took it after a few moments.

"Glad we could help, and, sorry for earlier."

Tsukune smiled and shook his head to indicate that he shouldn't worry about his part in Fairy Tale's operations before tonight.

Then Xia-Long turned to Fong-Fong and Ling-Ling at his side.

"Please tell your father that I look forward to having a discussion with him in the near future about the future of the Triads."

Fong-Fong extended his hand and Xia-Long shook it.

"I know he'll be looking forward to that."

"It might take a little while though."

Xia-Long looked away pensively as he continued to speak.

"I have to clean my own house up first."

"Don't worry Xia-Long dear."

Routier held up her chainsaw as she said these words.

"I've brought my 'broom' with me."

Everyone gulped in mild terror at the thought of Routier using her "broom" to clean out the House of Miao.

They said their goodbyes and as they exited the bus Routier turned around and brandished her chainsaw again.

"Cut you guys later!"

When she departed Xia-Long cast a spell, and they both disappeared into the night air.

Everyone made a rather loud sigh of relief.

"That's one scary girl!"

Everyone nodded to Yukari's pronouncement.

"Well…."

Akua stood up next.

"This is as good a place as any to also make my departure."

"Akua-nee!"

"Nee-san!"

Moka and Kokoa both were on their feet in surprise at their sister's unexpected announcement.

Akua put her hands on both their shoulders.

"He's out there, somewhere, and there's no time to waste."

That she was speaking of their still missing father was plain from the two younger sisters' sad reactions.

"Then we are going with you!"

Moka's bold pronouncement was followed by Kokoa's own.

"That's right! We'll find father together!"

"No, absolutely not."

They were stunned by Akua's calm denial.

"Your places are here, at school, with your friends."

Her eyes fell on Tsukune, who began to blush as Moka also looked back at him.

"He needs you now more than ever."

Then she smiled at Moka with a teasing look.

"And you need him now more than ever as well."

Moka had an angry and disappointed look on her face, but she couldn't seem to stop her own blushing.

"As for you!"

Kokoa tensed as Akua turned towards her.

"She needs you more than I do."

"But Akua-nee…."

Akua smiled indulgently at their youngest sister.

"That's final. Remember, as the eldest, in father's absence I am head of the Shuzen Clan."

Then her countenance took on a serious expression.

"Not only must I find Father, but I must also start rebuilding our once great house."

Then she smiled at them again.

"I can best accomplish both tasks knowing you two are safe in the protective embrace of our New Dark Lord."

Her eyes fell again on Tsukune who looked stunned to hear her words.

"New…Dark Lord?"

His stunned whisper was interrupted by Akua addressing him directly.

"I trust I can place my imoutos once again in your protective…..embrace."

She smiled deviously as she spoke the last words.

Tsukune nodded back emphatically.

"I will always protect them, with my life."

"Good."

Moka, again with an angry expression, blushed even more profusely. That Kokoa mysteriously mimicked her Onee-sama's reaction didn't go unnoticed by the other girls present.

"Alright then."

With these words, the three sisters embraced.

"I will find our father, this I promise you."

As she pulled back from them she smiled lovingly at her sisters.

"He would have been very proud of both of you tonight."

She then took a deep breath before finishing her statement.

"I promise you both that you will get to hear those words from his own mouth, soon."

To everyone but Moka and Kokoa's surprise, their sister vanished before their eyes.

"WOW! What a woman."

Haiji's admiring words were released as Kokoa sat back down beside him.

"So….."

Kokoa looked up at him with suspicion before he continued.

"…is your Nee-san…seeing anyone?"

She could only squint at him in angry disbelief as the bus pulled off once more.

* * *

"No general, I'm sure it was exactly as your subordinate said."

The middle aged man behind the desk nodded calmly as he replied into the hand receiver.

"I'm sure you will. I look forward to reading the full report."

With those words, he placed the receiver back in its cradle.

He then leaned back in his chair, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in exasperation.

"You know, less than a few hours ago I was having a nice quiet dinner alone with my wife. Do you know how rare that is for me?"

His dark-suited companion on the other side of his desk responded calmly.

"For a man in your position Sir, I imagine that is very rare."

Without moving his head back from its leaned position or reopening his eyes, he spoke again.

"At least she'll understand why our date night was interrupted, this time. It's not every evening all Hell breaks loose."

"Thank the spirits of our ancestors for that."

With these words, the man behind the desk tilted his head forward and again leveled an appraising look at his mysterious companion.

"First, my nice, quiet dinner was interrupted when my military adviser said a giant object, thought to be a meteor, had slammed into Minato Mirai. Then there were reports of strange creatures fighting each other at the disaster site. Then there were more reports of other strange creatures fighting in every major city in the nation. Then there's a report of a massive "Godzilla" type creature rampaging through downtown Yokohama. Then the mystery 'angel' popped out of the damn thing and a blinding light and then the creature is gone without a trace."

He sighed as he stood slowly and walked towards the wall of windows that dominated the right side of his large office.

His eyes contained concern and weariness as he looked out towards a world that this very night he knew had been changed forever.

"In the middle of all these unbelievable events His Majesty calls me out of the blue and tells me he's sending me a 'subject matter expert' to help me with the crisis, and that I should take his advice to avoid further exacerbating the situation."

He then turned skeptical eyes on his companion.

"And here you are."

"And here I am."

He slowly returned to his seat and relaxed again as his companion looked at him with what seemed like mild sympathy.

"And I took your advice and called off the military pursuit, and just as you said they would, they escaped."

"They did."

The man clenched his jaw muscles in response to the far too calm demeanor of this stranger.

"Which you insist is for the best."

"It is Sir. The Japanese people and the world have had enough put on their plate to digest this evening. Adding more now would just further destabilize the situation."

He again looked off at the windows to his right.

"Our military leaders are, very politely, letting me know they think I'm a fool."

His companion sighed lightly with a knowing smile on his lips as he responded.

"They are operating in darkness. Their instinct is to attack first and question later. That would only serve to exacerbate the crisis in this situation."

He cut his eyes back to his companion before replying.

"So you say."

He folded his arms across his chest in frustration before giving voice to his concerns.

"As we speak the Japanese people, the people of the world, are terrified. Every world leader is blowing up my phone lines asking questions I don't have answers for."

He indicated all the red lights flashing on his desk telephone.

Next, he used his right index finger to point at the door in the far wall that led to the reception area for this office.

"On the other side of that door, every minister of the government is demanding answers from me too."

He let out a long sigh of frustration before continuing.

"And I'm sitting in here taking direct advice from only one man who I only met less than half an hour ago, and who's only official function in our government is Head of the Antiquities Research Department, Section Y, of the Imperial Household Agency."

Now he directed a scornful look at his still mildly smiling and far too calm companion.

"Why am I doing that?"

His companion, never losing his mild smile, flicked up his eyebrows before replying.

"I would imagine it is because His Majesty asked you to do so, which is an extremely rare event in and of itself."

An understatement of epic proportions. Since the end of the Pacific War, the Emperor has been a virtual figurehead. The current Emperor was quite scrupulous in maintaining his distance from government affairs. For him to do so now was extraordinary and unexpected.

It was the only reason this man was even in this office right now.

"And because, in this situation, you have nowhere else to turn for relevant information."

His probing eyes again fell on his enigmatic companion. After a long silence, he asked the obvious of this man.

"So, you have information for me?"

Without answering the man picked up his dark leather briefcase and gently placed it on the desk between them. He took out a flat, dark-colored box the size to hold sheets of paper and sat it beside the briefcase on the desk.

"What is this?"

He asked this as his companion took the box lid off and took out a dark-colored folder. He spoke finally as he turned it around and handed it over.

"A secret international agreement between most of the world's major nation-states on how to deal in a coordinated manner with unexpected extraordinary events. Its codename is the Uranus Accords. "

He furrowed his brows at the folder now in his hands.

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"Nor had many of your counterparts across the world until an hour or so ago."

This statement drew his suspicious gaze right to his unflappable companion.

"There are certain things that world leaders and politicians, in general, don't need to know about until they become an issue. Men like my predecessors and myself have been entrusted by previously lawfully enacted governments with maintaining this knowledge and preparing responses for situations just like this so that men such as yourself can go about your normal daily responsibilities without unnecessary additional burdens weighing you down."

He could feel the look of contempt he was sending his nonplused companion at that moment straining his facial muscles.

"Unnecessary additional burdens? Secret international agreements? Hidden government agencies? I don't like the sound of any of that."

"Understandable Sir."

Seeing his words hadn't relieved his companions concerns, the mysterious advisor provided background information.

"Bureaucracy is a necessary evil. Elected leaders cannot be expected to be subject matter experts on all things they have to deal with, so the bureaucracy serves to provide the knowledge and know how that elected leaders need, but only at the moment, they need it. I imagine as we speak my counterparts in the other major world governments are having similar conversations with their own equally concerned leaders."

He then turned his head and shrugged with a look on his face best described as "it can't be helped".

"However, since this event happened in our country, per this agreement, we must take the lead in dealing with it."

"And do what?"

The mystery man smiled benignly back as he spoke with a reassuring tone.

"Tell the world the truth, while trying to calm their fears."

He could only shake his head in bewilderment at how this conversation had turned.

"The truth? And what is the truth?"

His companion again reached into the box and removed another dark folder to hand to him.

"This is?"

He looked down at the second folder as his companion answered.

"Uranus Y-4."

He flicked his stern eyes again on his suddenly taciturn conversation partner.

"And that is?"

"Uranus Y-4 is disguised as the internationally agreed situational plan should the presence of extraterrestrial aliens be discovered by a significant population. A situation where information containment is no longer possible on any level."

His eyes went wide as saucers in disbelief. After a few quiet moments looking at the documents in the folder, he turned an incredulous look back on the strange advisor.

"Aliens? Are you telling me these are 'little green men' from outer space?"

His companion laughed mildly and shook his head from side to side.

"No Sir. As I said before, this is a disguise. A semi-believable rouse for public consumption should part or all of the Uranus Accords reach the public domain."

"So if they aren't aliens, what are they?"

For what he said next, the mystery man was far too calm indeed.

"Yokai."

Silence hung in the room for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, in a stunned voice, he broke this awkward silence.

"Monsters? For real? I'm supposed to get on nation-wide…..hell, worldwide television and tell the human race…..'monsters', DO exist?"

"No Sir."

He sighed, relieved, as he again looked at the papers.

"Good."

A moment later, he regretted allowing himself to relax.

"They aren't ready to learn that truth just yet."

He again looked at the unbelievably calm man with disbelief as the incredible situation was explained to him.

"Better to let the media do what they do best and trickle that news slowly out to the public over weeks or months, to prevent a general panic."

Again he directed skeptical eyes at the man across from him.

"You are serious?"

The man simply nodded and kept speaking.

"The existence of yokai in this nation has been a known fact for thousands of years."

"Known…by whom?"

"In this day and age, by those humans that either live with or work with them. Some humans even marry yokai."

"…..what?"

He could hear the stress in his own voice now. His companion had the tact to ignore such emotions though.

"In an official capacity though, the members of my section of the Household Agency Antiquities Department that has been responsible up until now for suppressing the public knowledge and evidence of their existence."

He then looked off towards the windows with a thoughtful look.

"And of course His Majesty, who learned of their existence like his noble predecessors shortly after their ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne."

He then redirected his eyes across the desk and didn't like what he saw. He apparently decided his bewildered companion needed more information.

"Some background might be relevant for you."

He then began to speak again in his far too calm voice.

"Before Japan reopened to outside influences, the previous all-internal version of this Accord was known as the Imperial Edict Concerning Yokai and Other Mysterious Creatures. Only after we began formal relations with other nations were we invited to participate in the preexisting previous agreements that existed on this before the Uranus Accords were promulgated as a successor agreement in the 1950's."

He rubbed at the bridge of his nose to relieve his tension as he continued to listen to this man's truly unbelievable story.

"Yokai, having experienced varying degrees of success or failure integrating with human society, in general, decided about five to three hundred years ago in this nation to mostly withdraw from human life. For most other nations this trend occurred much earlier. They were so successful at retreating or blending in that by the time of the Industrial Revolution, humanity as a whole had completely forgotten the truth of their existence and consigned them to the level of myths, save for a few of us charged with keeping the peace between these two worlds."

The man again looked wistfully out the window as he continued his explanation.

"Most yokai are genetically indistinguishable from humans. The markers in DNA that indicate their particular human subspecies are not recognized as such distinctions by current science."

"Human….subspecies? You mean they look like humans?"

Another unbelievable fact had reached his ears like a piercingly high sound.

"Yes, yokai are, genetically, a derivation of the species Homo Sapien. Most are also able to hide their 'distinguishing' features until needed. It's a very interesting adaptation. A form of genetic camouflage."

"HUMANS? They are humans?"

The man nodded calm confirmation.

"Essentially, on a genetic level, yes."

"I….can't believe any of this."

He said this in exasperation as he rested his forehead in his right hand.

"It's one of the main reasons the Imperial Household Agency rather infamously denies almost all research requests into imperial burial sites. These places have considerable evidence of yokai existence associated with them, from a time when humans and yokai interacted much more frequently."

He used the fingers and thumb of the hand he was resting his forehead in to rub at his temples. After a few moments, he sat back up and sent the strange advisor from the Emperor a probing look.

"So….."

A long pause followed, but he soon found his words again.

"…..Uranus Y-4?"

The mysterious man smiled and nodded his understanding of the question asked of him.

"The plan for reintroducing the human race to the concept that yokai do still exist, they aren't a myth, and they aren't out to kill us all."

He shook his head when he heard this.

"After tonight's events, that's going to be a hard sell. I'm not sure they aren't out to kill us all, how can I convince the rest of the world of something I myself am unsure of?"

His companion didn't seem to ever be phased by anything.

"We have taken that into account."

He reached into the shallow box again and took out a piece of paper, which he promptly handed across the desk.

Reading it, he couldn't help but be surprised by its contents.

"Is this….a speech?"

His companion solemnly nodded.

"Crafted by representatives of various world governments over decades of research and collaboration."

His eyes widened as he reached the end of the words on the page.

"My God! It's…..brilliant!"

His companion nodded again.

"It is designed to be exactly what the people of the world need to hear, from you, tonight, to mollify their fears and reassure them that the Government of Japan has the situation under full control."

After a slight pause, he continued.

"If I may suggest Sir, you should deliver that as soon as possible. Added time without comment from you will only lead to further speculation and increased fear among the populus."

He was still utterly bewildered by all this himself. The people surely must be at the tipping point if he didn't act quickly to reassure them.

"There's so much I still don't understand."

His companion took on a sincere expression as he replied.

"Yes Sir, but I am here to help you understand. I am here to answer your questions Sir and provide you with my advice. My section of the Antiquities Department is also here to get you answers to the questions we don't have immediate answers for."

He took a long breath and looked out the window again. Thoughts raced through his mind. Consequences of his actions tonight could have a profound effect on the future of mankind. Even its very existence.

Inaction though, at this critical moment, was inexcusable and dangerous.

He took another steadying breath and pushed a button on his phone that wasn't blinking red.

"Are they ready in the press room?"

A lady's voice replied. His public relations chief.

"Yes, Sir."

He closed his eyes as he responded.

"Tell them to alert the media. I will be making my broadcast to the nation in five minutes. No followup questions at this time."

"Understood Sir."

As the line went dead he slowly rose from his seat and picked the speech up from the desk in front of him. His new, mysterious advisor also stood.

He stepped around the desk but stopped at its front edge.

"And after this speech is delivered?"

He never took his eyes off the doorway towards his front as he asked this.

"I'd suggest we speak with the ministers of the government next, followed by the other world leaders."

All he could do was nod agreement. It was as sound way to deal with the situation as he could have possibly thought of in that moment. The ministers had to know what they needed to do next, and his world counterparts had to be informed of the situation.

Then he turned and again looked his companion in the eyes.

"And how long do I have you for?"

The man bowed as he spoke.

"As long as you need me, Mr. Prime Minister."

"Good."

He turned towards the door, took another deep breath, and began walking again as he spoke.

"Alright, let's do this."

His new mysterious advisor bowed again and followed behind him, ready to be of service to the leader of the nation.


	2. Long Night II

At night, the road that leads to Yokai Academy is hardly indistinguishable from any other wooded road you might drive down. The stars above were the same stars you can see from outside the Great Barrier. Cygnus shown brightly in the predawn west, the Pegasus constellation followed high above. On the southern horizon bright Mars still lingered.

 _"The God of War."_

After tonight, it was good to see that particular planet moving quickly west as well.

The normally red sky under the barrier looked the same at night as the blue sky beyond. The only thing at night to tell you that something wasn't right was that despite the constant 30 degrees under the barrier, all the trees were as bare as if it were winter. They were still alive, but under the barrier, you couldn't tell that.

 _"Just like…me."_

He winced slightly at this abhorrent thought.

 _"How can you think of such a thing at a time like this?"_

Guilt stabbed Tsukune like a knife in the heart.

The guilt of feeling numb after losing…her.

Yet even now she sat on the seat beside him. Her soft hand gently clutching his own. Her silver hair gently moving as the air came in past them from the Bus's open windows. He furtively glanced at her profile. You could see the strain of the night's, the last few weeks', momentous events wearing on her, but she looked as tough and as beautiful as ever.

 _"There is…only one….Moka!"_

Was that a mental note for himself, a command from him to his own heart to his errant brain, or was it all just wistful thinking to soothe his weakened soul?

Even he was unsure of the answer, and he hated himself for that indecision as much as for his numbness if not even more so.

She finally noticed his attention on her and mustered a brilliant smile for him. Even as he returned her smile weakly he felt the urge to suddenly flee come over him.

 _"I'm unworthy of her, of all of this."_

She squeezed his hand gently as he meekly nodded and turned away to look back out towards the blackness and the barren trees outside the Bus, hoping she couldn't see his pain and confliction on his face or the guilt he felt in his heart for loving two Mokas.

For mourning one while getting to keep the other.

 _"It's not your fault."_

These words pierced his mind as if they had been spoken by another voice. They certainly didn't reflect his own thoughts, and his natural tendency to blame himself when things beyond his control went wrong.

It didn't even sound like him.

His eyes turned over his right shoulder towards the person in the seat directly behind him, but he couldn't explain why he had the sudden urge to do so.

Kurumu had been avoiding eye contact with Tsukune since they had evaded the Self Defense Forces by disappearing into an underground parking garage.

Mizore knew this because her mother had trained her to keep a close eye on everyone around her at all times. By now she knew all of her closest friends' tendencies by heart, even the previously elusive Inner Moka's. Tsukune's emotional pain was obvious, the more so because he tried to hide it and was so poor at doing so. He and Inner Moka shared this same personality trait, even if they hid it via different means. She was in pain too, but she was much better at hiding it than he was, to the untrained eye.

Then there was Kurumu.

She also was hiding her own unique pain now.

Mizore had her suspicions of that pain's source. She'd deny it if confronted with her feelings about losing Outer Moka, but Mizore suspected the pain her friend wanted to cover up the most was related to the person in the seat in front of her as well.

 _"But why? What exactly had changed between them?"_

Whatever additional thoughts she had on this topic would have to wait for now.

All eyes on the Bus turned towards the lights up ahead.

As they pulled into the emergency entrance of Yokai Academy Hospital, they saw several people waiting outside for them. There were even wheelchairs and stretchers.

Doctor Yutaka talked to his colleague, the completely bandaged up Doctor Tsumugi. When Yukari saw the infamous Nurse Yakumaru standing among the others she let out an unhappy hissing sound.

The Bus slowly pulled up and the first of the three stretchers was brought forward the main exit.

"That ones for you….Miss Ruby."

At the Bus Driver's sudden words, everyone turned towards him with curious expressions.

"I don't….no, I'm fine."

When Ruby said this with a slightly surprised smile on her face, the curious eyes of the others turned towards her with concern.

"Let me help you out, Ruby."

Tsukune was on his feet and already had her hand before Ruby could make a further protest.

"No really…..I'm…..cough….couch."

At the sudden sight of blood coming from Ruby's mouth, everyone was instantly on their feet.

"…Ruby-chan!"

Yukari covered her mouth in horror as she exclaimed her concern aloud from the seat beside her fellow witch.

"Go on and get her on the stretcher."

Tsukune nodded intently at Gin's words and began to pull Ruby slowly to her feet and forward.

"The Iron Maiden is no joke, Miss Ruby, as you well know. Let the doctors do their work."

At the Bus Driver's sound advice, Ruby meekly nodded and let Tsukune lead her down the steps and out of the Bus.

Once outside two nurses and Doctor Tsumugi Immediately moved forward.

"I understand the injuries are related to the Iron Maiden spell?"

It took Tsukune a moment to realize she was speaking to him.

"Um…yes. Almost ten hours ago."

It just hit Tsukune that Ruby, who except for her magic powers had the body of a normal human, had fought and used high-level magics against their enemies for almost half an entire day with most of her internal organs damaged in some way.

Instant dread filled his heart and mind.

"How has she…"

"I…"

The tiny voice behind him called out in weak sounding fear. He turned to see Moka holding Yukari by the shoulders as she began to sob, holding her star-topped wand timidly before her with both hands.

"…..I've been casting…..healing spells on her….but…"

The look of abject failure on Yukari's face told them all it was just to help Ruby hang on a while longer.

"….Ruby…..I."

She smiled weakly up at Tsukune from the stretcher as he lost the words to comfort her somewhere between his heart and his lynx.

"It's Okay."

She smiled deeply as she squeezed his hand with surprising strength.

"I'll be fine…..the doctors will fix me up. You'll see."

"Move her now! CAT scan immediately and then vital fluids!"

At Dr. Tsumugi's hasty command, the team of nurses pushed Ruby's stretcher off as she smiled back at Tsukune. She held his hand till the very last second as they wheeled her towards the doors.

"Can I…"

"Go."

It was the anxious-looking Doctor Yutaka that answered Yukari's obvious desire to follow her friend. Without a look back Yukari took off after the team moving into the hospital with Ruby.

"I should….."

Tsukune didn't get to finish his sentence before Doctor Yutaka had him by the arm and pulled him towards the next stretcher.

"Your place is right here, Mr. Aono."

As he was rather forcefully pushed onto the edge of the next stretcher a brawny looking male nurse grabbed his legs and effortlessly swung them onto the mattress.

"But I'm perfectly…"

The doctor cut him off with an incredulous sounding retort.

"Turned from a Vampire Ghoul into a Shenzo Vampire in one night?"

When Tsukune was about to protest this point, the doctor added more emphasis.

"I understand you also underwent the 99 Needles as well?"

"What?"

Moka's immediate alarm at hearing this news was plain. Beside her, the others had different levels of guilty looks on their faces. In the heat of the events, they had just been a part of no one had bothered with informing Moka of everything they had gone through while she had been Fairy Tale's captive.

"Is that true Tsukune?"

He could only look shyly away and nod.

Her hand raised to cover her stunned open mouth.

"My God! But…."

"It's all right, really!"

Tsukune exclaimed with as bright a smile as he'd ever mustered before.

"It all worked out, so….."

The instant look of terror and shock on her face at hearing his words stopped him in mid-sentence. She clearly understood the real dangers of the 99 Needles and was terrified he had done such a dangerous thing.

As he looked away from her penetrating eyes, Doctor Yutaka used his hand to force Tsukune's head down on the stretcher. His reluctant patient seemed to relent and try to melt his head into the mattress.

As the nurses began to prod him, Doctor Yutaka turned back towards Moka.

"That stretcher is for you, Akashiya-san."

For a split second, she looked as if she'd put up a fight, but relented rather easily and sat down on the stretcher, casting a concerned glace again at Tsukune. That she was cooperating with little fuss was clearly meant to be an example for Tsukune to follow.

"Aono-san goes in the CAT scanner right after Tojo-san, then Akashiya-san."

The two stretchers began to roll when Kokoa suddenly called out.

"Can I go with Onee…."

"No."

In a very firm voice Doctor Yutaka denied her request while pointing towards the row of wheelchairs.

"But I'm perfectly…"

"Do it Kokoa!"

Moka's firm command took the wind right out of her Imouto's sails.

"Yes….Onee-sama."

She plopped down into the furthest wheelchair from the Bus with a pout, and let the nearest nurse wrap a blood pressure sleeve around her right arm.

Gin, Haji, Kurumu, and Mizore all had amused expressions at Kokoa's display of frustration, but San stopped them by pointing to the other wheelchairs.

Behind them, Bus Driver sounded amused as he spoke.

"Who do you think those are for?"

As they turned back with varying degrees of unhappiness displaying, Nurse Yakumaru indicated with a hand motion for them to take the waiting wheelchairs so her colleagues waiting nearby could examine them.

"Right this way please."

They all began to move slowly and reluctantly towards the waiting wheelchairs with unhappy expressions on full display.

* * *

Moka sat upright in an examination room with a hospital gown on. Her arms were folded across her chest and the look on her face could spell murder if someone with a particularly weak heart saw her devastating gaze.

She had exited the CAT scanner more than thirty minutes before and had been stuck alone in this room since then.

No news about Ruby, no news about the others.

No news about…..him.

Never once was she concerned for her own health in the least.

The only thing keeping her from exiting the room and tracking the doctor's down was her modesty, and if she had to wait much longer she might forego that last mental obstacle.

Suddenly the door handle moved, but nowhere as quick as her angry eyes.

"Why have you kept me in here for half an hour? You know I'm perfectly fine!"

Doctor Yutaka winced slightly at her forcefulness as he timidly entered the room.

"My apologies, Akashiya-san."

"What's wrong with Tsukune? How is Ruby? I want to see them both, now!"

The look on his face indicated he had expected her "aggressive" interrogation of him, but that it was still a bit intimidating to witness firsthand.

"If you'll be patient a bit longer you will get to see both."

Moka turned and huffed in frustration. Taking this as her temporary acquiescence, he proceeded before she could verbally assault him again.

"There seems to be nothing wrong with you."

Her drawn-out sigh indicated her frustration at him stating the obvious.

"And Tsukune?"

Yutaka scratched at the back of his head with a puzzled look as his eyes directed down to a chart he had in his hands.

"He's alright as well, it seems."

The pause in his statement sent an alarm through Moka's mind.

"It seems?"

He looked back at her with slight concern before elaborating further.

"Obviously moving from being a human to a full Shenso in what is just a bit more than a single year is not only unprecedented but also hard to get baseline readings for."

When Moka showed no obvious sign of being mollified by this statement, the doctor quickly moved to explain further.

"However, for the most part, using your own vital signs as the only reasonable template to go off of. He seems to be perfectly fine."

Her eyes bore into him for a few moments more as if searching his aura for any signs of deceit or prevarication. Then her eyes turned from him and she released a more pleasant sounding sigh.

"Good."

Then the intensity immediately returned as she looked at him again.

"And Ruby?"

He swallowed hard before formulating his words, which instantly intensified her concern back to its previous high levels.

"Well, that's what we wanted to talk to you about."

Her eyes followed him with curiosity as he went back to the door. After opening it he beaconed for someone down the hallway. A few moments later the completely bandaged Doctor Tsumugi entered and greeted her.

"Akashiya-san."

Moka had no intention of giving the new doctor any more room to maneuver her words than she had the previous one.

"Why aren't you with Ruby? What is this?"

The two doctors exchanged a glance. Moka could tell that they both understood each other without using words. They were clearly confronting a "difficult patient". Tsumugi's eyes went back to Moka's and she spoke as clearly as her bandaged mouth would allow.

"Tojo-san's injuries are…..extensive."

Moka suddenly turned her eyes away when she heard this in an attempt to hide her concern from the relative strangers.

"How extensive?"

Doctor Tsumugi tilted her head slightly as she answered.

"While we don't believe they are life-threatening at the moment….."

She again turned her eyes towards Doctor Yutaka, who finished her statement for her.

"They could be permanently debilitating."

Tsumugi added additional details to the disconcerting diagnosis.

"She has extensive muscle and bone damage related to the use of the Iron Maiden."

She and her colleague again exchanged knowing glances. Unlike before, no mirth was left for them to share.

"She may never be able to walk again, and the use of her arms….."

"I see."

Moka stood up suddenly as she spoke, and with as much dignity as someone in a hospital gown could muster she threw out her chin with obvious intent.

"You think my Shenso blood will help her, right?"

They shared another glance, this time their expressions showed to Moka that they weren't positive about her Shenso blood fixing Ruby's issues, but they had run out of more traditional medical options.

"There is that possibility, which is why….."

Moka didn't let Doctor Yutaka finish his statement as she walked between them towards the door.

"Let's not waste time, where is she?"

As she proceeded into the hallway her left hand was firmly clasping close the opened backed hospital gown behind her. The two doctors moved quickly to catch up, looking surprisingly much less dignified than she.

* * *

"I'm going in."

This was Mizore's whisper to Kurumu as they sat on a bench at the hospital's emergency entrance.

"I told you to sit down. You'll only make trouble by rummaging through there looking for them.

Towards the other end of the bench sat Kokoa, sullenly quiet and lost in her own thoughts.

Even Kurumu, who found Kokoa particularly irritating most of the time, couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

Her father was missing, possibly dead. Her mother's death that night, despite their mutual dislike of each other, had to also be on her mind.

Then there was Kahlua.

What must be going through Kokoa's mind, having just killed her own sister?

Being separated from the other sister whom she worshipped at a time like this had to be adding additional pressure to her already frayed nerves.

Still, something about Kokoa still seemed particularly irritating to Kurumu. She only wished she could put her finger on exactly what that something was.

"I have to know if they are alright."

Mizore stood as if to go, but Kurumu quickly grabbed her forearm and pulled her back down.

"I told you, he's fine."

Mizore blinked at her in mild confusion, but a sudden look of interest crossed her expression.

"Yes, you have, but how can you be so certain. Normally I'd be the one holding you back in a situation like this."

Kurumu turned away from her friend's overly interested gaze with an exasperated look.

"I just do, after all, he's my Mate of Fate."

The look Mizore shot her friend was best described as a smirk.

Nurse Yakumaru and two other attendants had remained outside with them after their own examinations showed that for a few bumps, scrapes and bruises, everyone else was fine.

Kurumu suspected that "silver hair" was fine too. Otherwise, what's the point of being a shenso?

She was also certain Tsukune was fine too, in a way she wasn't ready to address to Mizore, or anyone else. For that matter, she wasn't prepared to think about it herself.

 _"It's not like what I was told. I have to be wrong about it."_

The real concern now was Ruby.

The attendants made sure they had fluids and food, which had been most welcome. Now they merely served as a babysitting service to make sure the healthy ones didn't cause any trouble.

Haiji was yammering away on a cell phone that apparently had reception beyond the Great Barrier. It was clear from his animated motions he was retelling his adventures of the past few weeks to his family. From the snippets of words she bothered to listen to Haiji's family had also participated in defending Japan from Fairy Tales' minions tonight. Crow Tengu were the most populous yokai group in Japan, so it made sense that some of them would be involved.

San looked on her excited Kohai with a smiling expression that basically said: "that's our Haiji-kun".

Gin, fast to his beloved Sempai's side, directed the occasional exasperated glance at his friend; but most of the time he looked lovingly down on his diminutive love interest with obvious adoration.

Kurumu smirked at this.

"All bark, no bite."

Mizore looked at her with confusion.

"What's that?"

With her arms folded over her chest and her smirk increasing, Kurumu directed a head toss in the direction of the timid lover and his seemingly unsuspecting love interest.

"Oh, yeah."

Mizore just responded with mild disinterest.

Both had commented earlier on the usually aggressive womanizer Morioka Ginei's seemingly docile and shy personality shift whenever the quiet young woman was in his presence.

They also agreed that he was oblivious to San's mutual interest in him as well, and then both mutually condemned the male race to permanent stupidity where dealing with women was concerned.

In the curve of the road beyond, a light began to show. Every eye suddenly turned as the Bus reappeared in the dark with its headlights shining. Bus Driver had left nearly an hour before without saying a word.

Now, hearing the familiar trill come through the open window, Kurumu wished he'd just drive on.

"KURU-CHAN!"

As the doors to the Bus swung open the buxom figure of Korono Ageha came bursting out towards her.

"My baby!"

Within moments Kurumu's face was smashed between her mother's ample bosoms.

In a muffled voice Kurumu finally spoke.

"Hello, mother."

Whatever Haiji had been saying to his family dropped off to the level where you could hear the lady on the other end, presumably his mother, asking if he was still there. Haiji may like Lolis, but that obviously didn't mean he could turn a blind eye to what the elder Kurono had to offer as a woman.

"Really Ageha, shouldn't you check her for injuries before you try to smother her to death?"

The sultry smooth voice of Shirayuki Tsurara made it into Kurumu's ears past her mother's breasts' attempt to stop all external sound. For once, her mother surprisingly choose to ignore her rival's taunting.

"My child."

Mizore moved to embrace her mother's outstretched arms.

"You are uninjured?"

Touching foreheads briefly as they embraced, they soon parted and Tsurara encouraged her daughter to turn about so she could see her.

"I am, mother."

Again they embraced and the mother laid her cheek gently on the crown of her daughter's head.

"I was very worried, but I never doubted you would prevail."

At these words, Ageha pulled her daughter free from her death lock at last.

"I also had no doubts my Kuru-chan would win through!"

This remark was angrily addressed towards Tsurara, and not her own daughter. A second later Ageha whispered in Kurumu's ear.

"You are Okay?"

Kurumu just nodded without a word.

"Bus Driver explained to us what happened."

Tsurara's facial expression was mournful.

"…..with the Outer one, and Akasha Bloodriver."

Both mothers' then looked towards the brooding Kokoa at the end of the nearby bench, who seemed to be completely oblivious to their raucous presence.

"And…..other things."

Ageha's words also didn't seem to penetrate Kokoa's mental armor. Each glancing at their own daughter with a concerned expression, both daughters replied with concerned looking shrugs.

"How is our Tsukune-kun?"

Ageha felt the need to ask the same question her rival had, but with more possessive emphasis.

"Yes, how is OUR Tsukune-kun?"

Kurumu fought hard not to roll her eyes at their bickering with each other, even at a time like this.

"Fine, so is Moka….Inner Moka, that is."

Neither woman seemed overly concerned with Moka's status. Mizore then added more information.

"The concern is Ruby-chan. Yukari-chan is in there with her now."

Both mothers finally nodded, without taking their glaring eyes off one another.

Mizore quickly moved to change the topic before they started up at each other.

"Mother, have Kurono-san and you previously meet our sempai's Otonashi San-san, Miyamoto Haiji-san, and Morioka Ginei-san?"

"The two, young men, yes. At the field day."

Both ladies smiled their most brilliant smiles at Gin and Haiji, the latter of the two blushing profusely under such mature beauty.

"The young lady, however…."

Kurumu and Mizore introduced their mothers' to San.

"Of course we knew these two from before as well."

Ageha's flippant hand gesture towards the Bus's open door indicated two other people's presence.

It was the first time Kurumu had realized that Fong-Fong and Ling-Ling were standing there.

"I thought Bus Driver was taking you two back to Hong Kong?"

For some reason, Fong-Fong blushed when asked this innocent question by Kurumu.

"Well, he did….but…."

Seemingly losing his train of thought, his older sister stepped in for him.

"Things were still hectic back home. So mother and father told us to return here until they sent for us."

Kurumu and Mizore both understood that what really happened was that Fong-Fong asked to come back to "protect" his friends, and their parents obliged his request. Ling-Ling was back as her own brother's protector as well. This answer made sense considering the pink tinge to Fong-Fong's visage.

"Alright, I'll be back."

With this Bus Driver closed the door and the Bus rumbled on down the darkened Yokai Academy road.

Ageha wrinkled her nose at his sudden departure in suspicion.

"Where is he going?"

The Bus wasn't just for Yokai Academy use alone. Kurumu can remember from very early in her life many times she had ridden the Bus. Some of those rides she'd just as soon prefer to forget. For some reason that her mother never fully explained, her mother always seemed to take an unusual interest in the comings and goings of the Bus and its enigmatic driver.

"He said he had to pick up Tsukune's parents."

As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them.

"His parents?"

The two mothers said in a strange unison.

"You mean, his…..FATHER is coming?"

The gleam in both their eyes was frightening to behold. Kurumu and Mizore mimicked their mothers' strange unison by giving each other an exasperated stare of mutual understanding and releasing sighs of mutual frustration with their elders.

* * *

Her eyes opened slowly. The light seemed both oddly painful and a relief.

"…where?"

She felt someone remove something wet from her left forearm, and she saw what looked like a whipping motion out of the corner of her vision.

"…what?"

A familiar but strange sounding voice spoke to her then.

"Sorry about that, Ruby."

"Huh…..Moka? Sorry about what?"

It was then that Moka helped the disoriented Ruby to sit a bit more upright on her bed. After she took a few pulls off the drink Moka offered her, Ruby asked the first question again.

"Where am I?"

Moka answered softly.

"You're at the Yokai Academy Hospital."

A sudden realization came across the tired visage of Ruby's face.

"Oh….right. The Iron Maiden."

Moka cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at her weakened friend.

"Indeed, quite a powerful and dangerous spell it seems."

Ruby ignored Moka's mildly chastising tone as she handed her back the beverage and laid back down on her pillow.

"Well, it couldn't be helped. Had to do it."

After they exchanged understanding smiles, Ruby looked down at her left forearm with a puzzled look on her face.

"What were you doing with my arm?"

Moka, oddly for Inner Moka but in a surprisingly Outer Moka like manner, turned slightly and even seemed to blush.

"The doctors asked me to….."

As Moka began to trail off her answer, Ruby instantly understood the situation.

"Give me your blood?"

She looked down again at her forearm and instantly recognized the two evenly spaced punctures in her skin. She could tell out of the corner of her eye Moka nodding, without looking back at her.

"Is it working?"

Moka finally looked back at her with a smirk.

"Well…..you're awake, aren't you?"

Ruby smiled back and relaxed a bit, but then tensed up slightly.

"And Tsukune?"

"He's fine, everyone is fine."

If it had been anyone else, Ruby might think the almost too quick answer was a cover. With her present companion though, she knew the answer was honest and emphatic. When it came to Tsukune, Inner Moka had trouble hiding her true feelings.

"Except me, it seems?"

Moka took Ruby's words too seriously and moved to assuage the fears her friend might have.

"The doctors said that it looks like my blood is helping though, you have improved."

Instead of trying to clear you the confusion, Ruby knew it was best to move on with a nod and a smile.

"Well, I must thank you."

"Not at all. It was the least I could do. I owe you, all of you, so….."

Now Ruby was worried. It was not like Inner Moka to ever show any weakness. Much less to actually be moved emotionally.

"It's Okay. What are friends for?"

She said this as she handed Moka a tissue from the box on her side table. Moka nodded forcefully and then dabbed at her eyes with a slightly embarrassed blush to her cheeks.

For a long moment, they sat there silently, both in hospital gowns, one on a stretcher bed, one in a wheelchair.

"How are you?"

The sudden question took Moka a second to comprehend. With a smile she answered back firmly.

"Me, I'm fine."

Ruby was smiling back at her, but the sadness in her eyes was unignorably painful for Moka to see.

"That's not what I mean. I know you are fine physically."

Moka quickly averted her eyes from Ruby's own.

"I was talking about your heart."

Now Moka tried to turn completely away in her wheelchair so that Ruby couldn't see her face, but that wouldn't protect Moka's ears from her words.

"As someone who knows what it's like to lose….."

Moka turned back in the sudden realization that Ruby was on the verge of tears herself.

"Ruby!"

Moka quickly grabbed some tissue for her friend, who dabbed at her eyes now with a bittersweet smile.

"It…."

Moka tried to say the words, but they wouldn't come out. She paused, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Then suddenly the words eased their way from between her lips.

"Of course, it hurts."

Ruby reached over and squeezed Moka's hand.

"And your sister, Kahlua?"

Moka tried to smile but her eyes began to water.

"Well, that hurts too. It's Kokoa I worry most about though."

As Moka finally dabbed at the moister threatening to drop from the corners of her eyes, Ruby had a very thoughtful and concerned expression come over her.

"Yes, that had to be an incredibly hard thing to do."

All Moka could do was nod in response. Kokoa had done an incredibly hard thing in dispatching their sister. They both loved Kahlua, but she had become a tool for Gyokuro's revenge.

Kokoa had no choice, but it had to be eating her inside.

Moka turned to look at Ruby after she felt a gentle squeeze on the hand.

"I want you to know though, both of you. As someone who knows what it's like to…."

Ruby began to break up again and dabbed at her eyes. Moka almost involuntarily did the same.

"Well….what I want to say to you is, and I know I'm speaking for the others too."

Ruby paused briefly to compose herself again.

"We're here for the both of you. Whatever you need, no matter what."

Moka turned away suddenly but nodded before replying.

"Thank you. Kokoa and I are grateful, even if she doesn't seem so at times."

Then Ruby began to tear up again.

"You guys….."

She turned away slightly from the embarrassment of the emotional things she was about to say.

"All of you."

Tears began flowing freely from Ruby's eyes, forcing Moka's eyes to do the same.

"You're the….."

Moka began to involuntarily sob. This was so unlike her.

"…the only family I…"

Ruby couldn't finish her words. Even she had her limits. Moka finally found her voice, but only one word came out.

"…..Ruby."

Moka stood and hugged her friend as the two of them cried openly, mixing the old pain of the one, with the new pain of the other, and finding strength together to both keep moving forward.

* * *

Tsukune didn't know exactly what to expect when he was wheeled out the front of Yokai Academy Hospital.

What he got though was the last thing he could have ever imagined.

"Let go of my future son-in-law!"

Ageha pulled him into her ample bosom with surprising strength.

"Foolish harpy, as if my future son-in-law would lower himself to be associated with the likes of you."

Again he was pulled in the opposite direction to find himself once more in the slightly smaller but no less exquisite cleavage of Tsurara.

"Significantly better than with a pack of cold-hearted ice bitches!"

Once again he was in Ageha's fulsome embrace.

In hindsight, Tsukune realized that he should have expected this form of "maternal" assault though.

"Really ladies, I'm Okay."

They had rushed him before the doors had even finished opening and the next thing he knew he was trapped between them. One tugging his left arm, the other their right.

Both didn't seem to care that he became quite dizzy from the rattling of his body between them or that they were knocking his upper arms around between their breasts.

Which honestly was the best part of the whole awkward situation.

A sudden stab of pain reached his brain as if an ice pick had been driven in it. He even reached up and felt the area of his skull where the pain was located for blood.

"See, he's still sick. Come to momma."

This time Ageha pushed his face between her massive mammary glands.

"Please, I can cool that pain off for you dear."

Now he could feel Tsurara's chest pressing into his back as her hand transmitted a cold touch to his head.

After a moment, he managed to force out a muffled response.

"It's alright, please. I just want to sit."

 _"That's not all you want."_

Tsukune looked up suddenly in mild confusion.

"Huh, what's that Kuru-chan?"

Before he spoke he caught a glimpse of her. She was angry. He knew she was angry. He knew she was angry at her mother, and Tsurara. He knew she was also angry at him. He had a certainty about this he had never felt before from looking at anyone.

But when he asked her what she said she changed instantly.

Embarrassment, fear, confusion, all of these emotions washed over Tsukune, but they didn't seem to radiate from him. They weren't his emotions at all.

"Nothing, I didn't say anything."

She turned away even before she had finished speaking.

 _"But I was sure she…."_

"Mother, Kurono-san. Let's let Tsukune-kun sit down."

Mizore stepped up between the two women and practically forced Tsukune out from between them.

"Before you two ladies kill him."

Yukari snickered profusely at Tsukune's predicament, and her own cleverness.

Mizore gently guided Tsukune towards the bench and sat him down, taking her mother's place cooling off his head with her hand.

Yukari stepped up and sat beside him on the other side.

Kurumu, strangely, moved slightly away from him.

 _"She must be really angry at me."_

She suddenly turned to look at him with concern, as if she was about to say something profound.

 _"No….she's not really angry at me. Just mildly annoyed."_

Then she seemed to smirk at him and quickly moved over to smile down on him and rub his back.

 _"I don't deserve this."_

He thought the words, but he certainly couldn't help but enjoy their attention.

The two mothers, on the other hand, took turns smiling at their own daughters and frowning at the other's daughter and Yukari.

Then Tsukune looked down to the far end of the bench where Kokoa sat in frowning silence. She looked miserable and why shouldn't she? All the horrible thoughts that must be going through her mind.

"Kokoa-chan, are you…"

"I'm fine!"

She snapped at him with ferocity. Everyone coiled back slightly from her blazing eyes and forceful demeanor.

Then her features slacked into a stunned expression of her own, as if she not only hadn't meant to be so angry in her response but that she was stunned at who it was she had snapped at.

Her saucer-wide eyes never left Tsukune's matching stunned expression.

Then she blushed profusely and turned away suddenly.

"I'm…..fine. Sorry for….."

Tsukune managed an awkward smile for her before replying.

"It's no problem. We've all had a…..stressful night."

Tsukune didn't seem to notice the odd looks the surrounding women were directing at Kokoa, but she certainly felt the probing gazes. She pulled her knees upwards and wrapped her arms around them.

Then they all forgot about anything Kokoa had just done as the Bus again pulled out of the night and parked before them.

As soon as the doors opened two familiar figures stepped out.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Yukari rushed up to greet her parents who bother lifted her off the ground in their arms.

"No, I'm fine. Really! I know! I know Daddy, but I couldn't let my friends down."

She turned and beamed at her friends and her mother also smiled in their direction.

Sendou-san however, squinted at Tsukune as if he needed a bath. A cold chill ran up his spine as well. Sendou-san was not happy to see him at all.

"Stop that Daddy."

Yukari gently chided her father, who finally turned his intimidating spectacled eyes from Tsukune and smiled for his daughter.

"Tsukune-kun!"

The all too familiar voice rang out beside him. He didn't even need to turn to know who it belonged to.

"Son!"

The other voice was also familiar.

"Hello mom, dad."

He stood, and he soon had his mother wrapped in his arms.

"My baby, are you…"

He smiled as her concerned eyes looked up at him probing for injuries.

"I'm fine mom, I promise."

"Son."

His father stepped up with Kasumi still between them and placed both his hands on Tsukune's shoulders.

"Son, I….."

To Tsukune's surprise, his father seemed on the verge of chocking up.

"Dad, mom, I really am…"

Then his father pulled them both into a hug, and they stayed that way for a very long time.

When they finally broke apart, his mother noticed the girl at the end of the bench with her knees wrapped tight in her arms.

"Moka-chan?...but I thought…..that she…"

She looked back and forth in confusion to Tsukune and back at Kokoa.

The hospital entrance way was lighted, but it was the dark of night otherwise. In the low light conditions, it was hard for those without yokai enhanced vision to see colors. In fact, when Tsukune turned to see what had stunned his mother, he instantly understood the problem.

In the half-light, the now awkward looking Kokoa bore a distinct resemblance to her next oldest sister.

A slight twinge of pain clenched at Tsukune's chest.

He even reached up to touch the area where he "felt" the pain.

"Son?"

Both his parents looked at his grimace with concern, as did all around them.

Then he felt a small, warm hand on his back.

 _"It's alright. You have the right to mourn."_

He didn't know where that voice had come from, yet again, but when he looked over his shoulder it was Kurumu smiling at him gently.

He returned her smile, and the "pain" subsided.

"Mom, Dad, this is Kokoa-san, she's Moka's younger sister."

"Oh!"

His mother sighed in relief. Then her concerned gaze returned to her son.

"But…..Moka…she….."

Tsukune smiled and shook his head.

"She's fine mom, she's inside helping with our friend Ruby."

Both his parents looked perplexed at one another, then at him.

"But we saw her, on TV. She was there, and then she and that great monster were….."

Tsukune sighed with relief before explaining.

"That wasn't Moka you saw. That was her….mother."

If Tsukune had expected this to bring his mother relief too. He had sadly been mistaken.

"Oh my God! Those poor girls!"

His father only poured fuel on the fire with his next comment.

"Didn't the Bus Driver say that their sister had died too and that their father was missing?"

"OH GOD!"

Kasumi rushed up on a stunned Kokoa and wrapped her distressed target in a bear hug.

"You poor girls! To lose your mother and sister! And to not know where your father is or if he is even alive! Poor girls!"

Kokoa looked very much like a kitten trapped in the "death" embrace of an overly enthusiastic toddler. She tried to squirm her way out as best she could.

"Mom, maybe you should…"

Then everyone who had come to know the tough, gruff, and somewhat standoffish Kokoa so well for the past year grew silent in stunned reaction to what they saw.

Kokoa began to cry.

The Kokoa began to sob.

Finally, Kokoa wrapped her arms around Kasumi and began to wail uncontrollably.

"It's alright dear, let it out."

Kasumi held her and stroked her hair as she cried profusely.

Tsukune's father stepped up and wrapped his left arm around his stunned son's shoulders.

"Your mother just has a knack for these things."

Then the hospital doors slid open and Moka walked out.

Her eyes instantly widened as she saw her sister balling her eyes out in Tuskune's mother's arms.

A few seconds later she would regret not backing up back into the hospital unseen.

Kasumi's eyes found her, it was now too late.

"You poor thing!"

She rushed at Moka who only now tried to backpedal away.

"Aono-dono…I….."

"Onee-sama!"

Now Kokoa rushed her too.

Within seconds she was locked in between her potential future mother-in-law and her sister, both wailing like Banshees.

"Onee-sama!"

"You poor girls!"

A stunned eyed Moka finally found Tsukune's face and directed a pleading look towards him.

"Mom, really, they're Okay."

His mother ignored him completely.

"For you two lose your mother and your sister on the same night, and to not know where your father is!"

She stroked the reluctant Moka on the head.

"It's all too much! Too much!"

Then Moka's eyes seemed to glaze over as if she saw something far away. To everyone's surprise, droplets of water began to fall down the cheeks of her face.

"…..Moka?"

She didn't seem to hear Tsukune's concerned one-word question. She wrapped her arms around her sister and let Kasumi push them towards the bench.

When she finally sat down, she mumbled a few words and laid her head atop the sobbing Kokoa's own.

"Yes, …it's all…too much."

Every girl present, even the other moms, were now dabbing away tears. The men milled around awkwardly as if looking for somewhere to escape to lest they also become infected with whatever was in the air.

Even the Bus Driver, standing near the door of his Bus and leaning against it took out his handkerchief and wiped his face close to where his eyes were hidden.

Tsukune sat in the middle of this overwhelming sea of emotions, unable to fully connect to it.

Numb.

Why was he, seemingly alone, unable to connect with the people that mattered to him most?

The only pain he could feel was guilt, at not being more devastated by the losses of that night.

Mikogami-sensei, Master Touhou Fuhai,…..

…..her.

Lost in his own confused thoughts, Tsukune never even realize that his own face was also equally wet as the others.


	3. Short Day I

Even a half a day later it still didn't seem real to him.

The monumental events of the past few weeks, culminating with the dramatic climax of the previous night, it was too much for Tsukune to try to process now. He felt as if it would take him years to distill everything that had happened to them all.

Compared to the ride back to the Academy last night, really earlier this morning, this Bus trip was downright boring but refreshingly pleasant. They were headed to the Seaside Inn to drop San off back home.

She and Gin sat together in the seats directly behind the Bus Driver. They looked awkward but happy there. Haiji, who was sitting beside Kokoa on the bench across the aisle from them kept looking at them skeptically and occasionally shaking his head.

The salt air blew in on a late summer breeze through the windows as the Bus rolled along the ocean side road passing restaurants, inns, hotels, and shops that catered to the tourists that come here to relax every summer.

There were more people out and about here than back at home, but for Summer Break, the place looked almost deserted.

Everyone had witnessed what happened last night, if not live than on numerous replays, and it was having a depressing effect on everything.

 _"Fear and confusion will do that to people."_

As if on reflex, his hand went into his right pocket.

It was there.

The silver metal was warm from his own body heat, but the cracked jewel felt cold on his palm.

What did it all mean?

He couldn't resist turning a gaze towards his seat companion.

Moka had his left hand in her right but was busy chatting away with a completely recovered Ruby and Yukari in the two seats across and in front of them. Moka's blood worked miracles, or was it Akasha-sama's blood? Was it really Alucard's blood and they had all just "borrowed" it?

From behind him, Tsukune felt as if he could feel Kurumu's eyes on him, but when he turned to look at her, her eyes were on the ocean beyond. Noticing him she gave him a bright smile that felt forced to him for some reason.

He seemed to instinctively know something wasn't the same between them anymore, but he also didn't feel that anything had gone wrong between them either.

In fact, he somehow felt closer to her than ever before.

Something between them had evolved into…something else. Still, he felt like there was some kind of strange barrier between them though, and it was mildly irritating him.

It was all more than he could process now.

He gave her a return smile he hoped didn't show his melancholia to her and redirected his eyes again towards the ocean. His mind drifted off to thoughts about his family from earlier that same day.

* * *

They had stayed as quiet as they could when they had woken up.

It was hard to sleep for both of them, but the last thing they wanted to do was disturb him. He had to be exhausted.

Or was his new powers more than adequate to overcome any fatigue?

They didn't know the answer to that and they doubted he knew either.

Still, it was refreshing to see he did actually fall asleep.

No matter what else he had become, he was still their little boy, and they'd do whatever they had to do to protect him.

Kasumi busied herself in the kitchen preparing breakfast, but occasionally you could hear something drop or fall that weren't normal morning sounds in the Aono household. Koji tactfully ignored his wife's fumbling. He'd probably do much worse if he were trying to cook.

Every car that passed by the window made him turn and look.

Was it government agents? Were these Fairy Tale people Tsukune told them about still after him?

 _"What can I do if it's either of those?"_

Koji hated feeling powerless.

"I can't believe some of the crap they are saying about last night on the news today! Calling our Son a threat to Humanity!"

He'd been trying to ignore the news reports playing on the nearby television, but with little success. After the first five minutes, he quickly determined that they didn't know anything new, which was good, but it meant they did nothing but speculate now, and most of it was negative.

"They're just scared. Make sure you turn that off when you hear them get up. I don't want to bother Tsukune with that stuff today. He has enough worries."

Koji crossed his arms in frustration and Kasumi went back to fixing breakfast and pretending everything was alright.

"The only thing these news outlets are scared of is losing advertisers. The more outrageous their claims the better for their wallets!"

Before she could try to mollify her husband's mood they both were startled by the sudden sound of a light knock on their back door. Kasumi almost dropped the tongs in her hand.

Her husband was on his feet and they both looked apprehensively towards their back door.

"Who the hell would come to the back door?"

Kasumi turned with a fearful look towards her husband.

"You don't think it's…..the Press? Surely they haven't been able to identify our Tsukune from those grainy long-range images on TV?"

Koji had a sudden and worrisome thought intrude on him.

"Or it could be….…..the government."

Kasumi's already frightened expression took on a whole new level of dread.

"THAT thought doesn't make me feel better….."

The light rapping sound on the back door once again made their worrisome eyes turn in that direction.

Koji walked up behind his wife and gently placed both his hands on her shoulders. Together they walked gingerly towards the back door. Once in range of the latch, they paused as if stuck in amber. A few seconds later Kasumi extended her fingers and pushed aside the blinds that covered the window in the door.

Both let out sighs of relief when they saw two concerned looking but friendly and familiar faces staring back at them.

Kasumi quickly unlatched the door and the man and woman stepped in.

"Good lord! Why did you come to the back door?"

Koji directed this sharp and angry question towards the other man, who except for his glasses was Koji's mirror image. The other man looked confused but suddenly embarrassed

"Sorry, we thought under the circumstances that it might be best to not come to the front door."

Kasumi playfully slapped the man on his shoulder.

"You gave us quite a scare. We thought you were the government or the Press, or worse."

"What could be worse than the Press?"

The man laughed awkwardly but his female companion covered her mouth in shock. She was about the same age as Kasumi but wore her hair slightly longer. She also bore a distinct resemblance to her daughter.

"On MY! We're sorry for that. No one has figured out its Tsukune yet? Have they?"

Aono Kenji (青野 健児) is Koji's twin brother. Noriko (青野 稔子) and he are Kyoko's parents who live a few blocks over.

Kasumi smiled awkwardly at Noriko's concerned question and lightly shook her head from side to side as she responded.

"Not that we can tell. Thank goodness!"

Noriko set a bag on the counter and began taking out some food items and handing them to Kasumi. Kenji followed his brother back to the table and looked strangely towards the news report on television as he sat down.

"They still saying the same crap on the news as last night?"

Kenji crossed his arms again and nodded with an angry expression.

"Yeah, pure garbage, they refuse to acknowledge that Tsukune's group stopped that crazy damn thing….Alucard, they called it. It's pissing me off too!"

Both women looked at Koji with mild concern, then Noriko tilted towards Kasumi so that she could whisper to her.

"Are they still asleep?"

Kasumi nodded and leaned in to reply in her own hushed tones.

"Oh yes! You know how kids their ages can sleep no matter what."

Noriko began assisting Kasumi with preparing breakfast but leaned in again to whisper with an awkward expression.

"In the same bed?"

Kasumi's jaw clenched a little, but she quickly reapplied her usual smile.

"Of course. After the events of last night, she'd have it no other way. She's always been his protector."

Kyoko had been with her aunt and uncle the previous evening when the news from Minato Mirai first broke. She was the one who instantly recognized Tsukune and his friends, even from the long-distance camera feeds.

When the Bus Driver showed up she had stayed at their place, so she wouldn't be, in her words, 'in the way'.

As soon as they returned home in the early morning hours with their son she immediately began to fuss over him like a nanny.

"I figured. You don't find that….odd, at their age?"

Noriko, who like her husband worked a full-time job, didn't get to see her daughter interact with her cousin much growing up. Kasumi, who basically was her niece's surrogate mother, had witnessed it and realized that Kyoko saw Tsukune as her Otouto.

Noriko, however, probably because of the guilt she felt at being a working mom, constantly was concerned about her daughter's interactions with boys, even her slightly younger cousin.

"She was really worried about him. I figured it would make them both feel safer. It's been years so….no big deal the one time."

When they were younger, and given her parents' long work hours, Kyoko often stayed overnight with them.

This usually meant the cousins slept under the same blanket.

Since she also saw Kyoko as more of a sister to her son, Kasumi thought nothing of it when that situation continued on into their early teen years.

Noriko, however, grew very concerned about the situation and eventually Kyoko, much to her disappointment, was told to be home and in bed.

Kenji and even told Koji that Noriko gave up a promotion so she could work fewer hours.

Kasumi suspected that Noriko had done so to reduce the chances of her daughter sleeping over at her aunt's and uncle's house.

It had caused some tension between the women that had previously not been there, but since Tsukune had gone off to school, Kyoko's mother had gone back to her previous work hours and Kyoko's visits had returned to normal, minus the sleepovers.

"OK, I'm sure you're right."

Noriko didn't sound like she believed her own words.

"I just wish she'd get a boyfriend already."

Kyoko had only just turned 20 a few months before and was a full-time college student. Kasumi didn't see the rush to get into a relationship for her niece, but her mother clearly did.

"Be careful what you wish for."

Noriko turned a curious look toward Kasumi, who had made this off-hand proclamation as if she were talking to herself. Of course, Noriko couldn't image where Kasumi was coming from, having not witnessed the eventful day her son's female "friends" all showed up at the same time.

Clearly thinking she had said something wrong, Noriko finally spoke up so their husbands could hear them, while also changing the topic.

"You wouldn't believe how dead it is out there, even for a weekend. At times it seemed we were the only people left on Earth."

Her husband nodded his agreement while adding on details.

"Hardly a car on the road other than ours. People really seem to have taken the Prime Minister's call for calm to heart."

"Except at the temples, shrines, and churches."

His wife corrected his previous statement.

"They're busting at the seams. They're busier than New Year's Day."

Kasumi and her husband exchanged concerned expressions as Kenji continued.

"The local shire had police out front directing foot traffic and a line around the block to get in. Seems everyone is scared, and the News playing it up isn't helping."

Noriko nodded agreement with her husband's assessment before speaking again.

"We had to drive past three stores before we found one open. The man inside said we were the first people to come in and buy something other than a newspaper."

Kenji held up the folded newspaper he had laid on the table between him and his brother.

"He gave us his copy that he was hiding under the counter. The paper stands were already empty. You'd better take a look. They seem to have slightly better images than the TV stations have been showing."

Koji looked at the paper his brother held out towards him as if he was being handed a poisonous viper instead. Very reluctantly he took it from his brother and unfolded it with an angry expression on his face. Kasumi came out of the kitchen with a dreadful look on her face and stood over her husband's shoulder as they looked down on a grainy but large image that took up almost all of the front page, except for the huge kanji that spelled out this paper's Headline and tagline for the massive image.

[DEMONS? ALIENS? TERRORISTS? Who are they and what do they want?]

Kasumi covered her mouth in stunned terror. Koji angrily tossed the paper back on the table.

"Bastards."

The fingers of both of Kasumi's hand dug gently into her husband's right shoulder.

"It only looks like our Tsukune because we know it is him, right?"

The image was grainy and taken from very far away. They had obviously doctored it after blowing it up.

Still, Kasumi's encouraging words held no faith in their tone. Her husband reached back with his left hand and measuredly patted his wife's hands.

"Let's hope so."

From beside his brother, Kenji began to tell them more.

"From what the clerk told us at the store, that was one of the more restrained headlines."

All four exchanged concerned expressions before Kenji continued. Kenji lifted the paper to show the grainy image of a bat-winged man that "could" be Tsukune, and actually was, back towards his brother and sister-in-law.

"I hate to point this out, but you know someone who knows Tsukune already might start putting two and two together and figure out this might be him. Then it's going to become a real problem."

"That's a bridge we'll have to cross when we come to it, Uncle."

They all turn with surprise as Tsukune and Kyoko enter the sitting area. Everyone stood up at their sudden and quiet entrance. Noriko hurried out of the kitchen to join all. Kenji approached his nephew and placed a hand on his shoulder with a concerned look.

"How is our hero today? I hear you had quite the night?"

They exchanged smirking smiles.

"Hero huh? You could say it was a busy night for me. I'm fine though! Never better really."

Noriko rushed over to Tsukune's other side and spoke to him as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on his left cheek.

"We're so glad you're OK."

Tsukune sat down on the other side of the table from his father and uncle as they retook their seats. Kyoko crossed her arms standing over Tsukune from behind.

"I'm great too Mom, Dad, thanks for asking."

Her sarcastic tone elicited a devious smile from her mother.

"Then you can help me and your aunt in the kitchen with breakfast."

Kyoko's smirked turned instantly into a grimace.

"On second thought….."

After a moment's hesitation, Kyoko reluctantly followed her mother into the kitchen.

After exchanging knowing smiles with the other men present, Tsukune turned slightly to listen to the news report. Seeing this, Kasumi sent her husband a rebuking glare.

"I see our debut last night was a big hit. Did they get any close-ups?"

As Noriko returned with a tray of teacups and began to place them in front of the men, Tsukune's father reluctantly replied to his son's question.

"So far, not on TV, not of you anyway. Some of the girls they have pretty good images of, but you said last night that only Moka ever lived in the Human World, and since she looks different now too….."

As his brother's words trailed off, his twin picked up the conversation.

"The only one we have to worry about anyone identifying is…well….you."

Kasumi and Kyoko came in with the breakfast items and placed them in front of the men, then all three ladies took their seats. There was an awkward moment of silence that followed as everyone but Tsukune looked down towards the table with concerned expressions.

Tsukune looked at each in turn with a smile, and then with a happy expression proclaimed thanks for the food.

"Itadakimasu!" His sudden words seemed to break them from their stupor and they all exchanged awkward smiles before joining him. "Itadakimasu!"

As they ate their eyes grew as Tsukune easily devoured three normal portions of food in less than five minutes. The two mothers exchanged relieved looks, partially because they had taken the foresight to prepare extra food, but mostly because both were glad to see that even after the traumatic events of the previous evening, he still had his appetite.

"Slow down before you burst."

At Kyoko's mild chiding tone, Tsukune blushed slightly.

Sipping tea as the rest of his family finished their breakfast, Tsukune's eyes drifted to the newspaper beside his uncle's plate.

His eye movements indicated to his uncle to hand it over to him, but Kenji looked reluctant to do so. Seated next to his brother, Koji also didn't seem eager for his son to see the printed news.

"Show him the paper Koji. It's the best picture of him so far that we've seen."

At Kasumi's words, her husband reluctantly handed their son the paper.

Tsukune opened it to the front page and saw the massive picture of himself. As the adults tried to act like they weren't watching him for his reactions, he began to read the few words on the front. They sat in apprehensive silence as Tsukune turned the pages and kept reading. They knew that there were more pictures inside. He never seemed the least put off by anything he saw or read.

Kyoko, also anxious for his response, didn't possess the same levels of restraint as there elders.

"Well?"

At her irritated sounding question, Tsukune smiled at her, folded the paper and handed it over to her. As Kyoko's eyes widened at the image of her cousin on the front page, Tsukune gave an off-hand remark.

"Gin could take a better picture than that, and from much farther away too."

Their curious eyes darted from Tsukune calmly sipping his tea and Kyoko's animated expression as she pursued the paper with enthusiasm and disgust warring on her face.

She finally set the paper down and shook her head with a disgusted look. She then turned to look at her cousin with a serious expression.

"I don't know. It's not impossible to tell it's you, but then again I know your face well so…"

She shrugged as her statement trailed off and Tsukune gave her a deprecating smile.

Her father quickly weighed in with his thoughts.

"Plus it's from a live video camera image, and it's undoubtedly already been computer enhanced to the maximum limits of their technology. Seems no still photographs of the action were taken. If this is the best they can do….."

Koji picked up his brother's point.

"…then we may just have missed the bullet and Tsukune won't be identified."

Kasumi had a hopeful expression for the first time since her son started looking at the newspaper.

"Let's all hope so."

The adults and Kyoko all seemed pleased by the conclusions they had just drawn. They needed that reassurance.

Tsukune couldn't allow himself the luxury of hoping for the best though. He calmly sat his teacup down and addressed his gathered family.

"I'd be very happy if there were some way that none of you were ever tied to me by the authorities or the media, but my personal goal is not anonymity. I would never do anything to purposefully complicate the lives of my loved ones. But you all must understand….."

Five sets of very serious and concerned eyes now aimed in Tsukune's direction

"…I will not hide from my responsibilities. Humanity now knows it is not the only sentience species on this planet, there's no going back from that. As you can all see from that paper's choice of main subjects, I have already become the center of attention whether I planned to or not."

Concerned looks were sent in every direction as he continued to explain himself to them.

"We do need to try to keep you all safe and I'll find a way to ensure that. I'll talk with Bus Driver when I get the chance. If we're lucky, we'll have some time before my identity is publically revealed."

His aunt, in obvious confusion, asked a stunned question of him.

"A bus driver? Some bus driver is supposed to help with you with something like this?"

Her daughter cracked an awkward smile and answered her mother for him.

"Believe me, Mom, he's no normal bus driver."

Kasumi reached out and grabbed her son's hand and he reassuringly squeezed it back with a smile.

"But Son, why would you have to be publicly revealed at all?"

His smile didn't fade, but it seemed to his mother as if he were looking at something a hundred kilometers away from where he was. No joy reached his eyes.

"Because Momma, neither I nor the entire Yokai World can hide from the Human World anymore. If someone, someone with full knowledge of both worlds, doesn't step into the breach and bring the two sides together peacefully, then it could mean war. A war in which both sides could lose everything and the winner will have nothing but ashes to celebrate over."

Seeing not only his mother's terror but the dread his whole family showed now, he allowed his thoughts additional voice.

"The Three Dark Lords knew that if Alucard ever got free, then at the very least the Human World would finally know Yokai were real. There was no way to avoid that outcome with modern technology. Defeating Alucard wasn't the conclusion; it was just the beginning of the struggle.

Tsukune picked up his tea and took a long sip as everyone else seemed lost in their thoughts and concerns for the future. Placing it back down, he continued.

"I am the only one who can bridge the gap between Humanity and Yokai. It's my true calling and why I even exist in the first place. I must prevent the conflicts from arising and ensure the peaceful transition to our World's new reality. That's all there is to it."

Kasumi dropped his hand and to everyone's surprised jumped up, rounded the table and threw her arms around her mildly stunned son.

"But why does my Baby need to be the one to do this….thing?"

Tsukune sighed with relief and gently patted her back as she cried into his shoulder."

"Oh Momma, please don't be afraid for me. You and Dad, Kyoko, Uncle Kenji, and Aunt Noriko. You're the ones I worry about. I'll do everything I can to protect you all. I promise."

His aunt spoke then with a surprisingly chiding tone to her voice.

"No Tsukune, you don't understand at all."

Her daughter then cut a smile at her cousin before explaining further.

"We're the ones who'll do what it takes to protect YOU!"

Both women's eyes seemed to be much moister than before.

His uncle coughed awkwardly to break the emotional tension that had suddenly descended upon them all.

"ALRIGHT! Enough of this 'emotional' stuff."

Then he sheepishly smiled at his nephew, who still had his sobbing mother in his arms.

"I want to see them."

Kyoko sent her father a devastating look of disapproval.

"Really Dad? NOW?"

Her father returned her glare with a look of indignation.

"Sure, now. That is If Tsukune doesn't mind?"

Before a confused looking Tsukune could say anything his snarky cousin stepped in for him.

"Well, he does mind."

Her father smirked back at her.

"I know you think you get to speak for him in all things dear, but the young man is capable of speaking for himself on occasion."

For some reason, Kyoko blushed, despite also glaring angrily at her too pleased looking father.

"Mind? Mind what Uncle?"

Tsukune finally got in a response, indicating he didn't understand what was being discussed by the rest of them.

His own father sent his twin a rebuking look as he answered Tsukune's question for him.

"I think your Uncle wants to see your wings, Son."

Then his father directed a curious look at his son.

"Frankly, I think I want to see them too."

Tsukune smiled suddenly with understanding, stood up and began to remove his T-shirt.

His aunt spoke up as he did so with a sharp tone to her voice.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to Tsukune. Not to satisfy your Uncle's curiosity."

Her husband sent her a smirking glance with his cutting remarks.

"Don't pretend you don't want to see them too."

For some reason, both Kyoko and her mother began to blush now.

Tsukune placed his shirt on the back of the chair he had been sitting in and began to look at the walls on either side of him as if he were measuring them.

"It's no problem. I'm still amazed by them myself!"

Suddenly Tsukune took a steadying breath and then with a sound like air being suddenly displaced to great wings of leathery skin stretched out between long bones that Tsukune certainly hadn't been born with. The tips barely missed scrapping the walls on either side.

The room went deathly silent as the five people he spent his whole life with looked on him as if he were a stranger that just told them he was God.

Instead of feeling ostracized by their stunned expressions, he felt understanding.

He wouldn't believe it either if he hadn't just spent the last year and a half at Yokai Academy.

It took him weeks to really accept the "new" reality back then and even now none of it seems real at times.

To see one of their own transformed into something that for all but Kyoko had been fantasy till last night, it was amazing they didn't run from him.

Then his mother began to step forward and slowly reached out her hand.

She timidly touched the leathery flap of his left wing with her index finger.

"Oh!"

She pulled back her hand at the initial sensation. Then sent him an awkward smile.

"Can you….feel that?"

He laughed a little and then nodded. She stretched her hand back out and gently placed it on the flap with an amazed expression.

Kyoko instantly moved forward and joined her.

"You guys can touch them if you want. It doesn't even tickle."

His aunt, uncle, and father stepped up and timidly felt the wings and bones with astounded looks. They were so curious Tsukune began to feel awkward and blushed a bit.

"WOW! It's like a bat's wings, only huge!"

Tsukune laughed at Kyoko's words, and then explained the wings a bit more for them.

"Well, I'm still a mammal as far as I know."

A sudden idea popped into his head.

"Would you guys like to see the armor too?"

They all sent him amazed expressions. His wings disappeared much to everyone's stunned amazement and suddenly Tsukune was encased in a red and black suit of armor plates.

Seeing their amazement as they touched him, Tsukune explained where all these amazing things came from.

"Apparently it's all, the wings, the armor, all of it, is made from my blood."

"WHAT?"

* * *

The concept of blood transformation took the better part of an hour to explain to his family as he waited for the Bus to come to pick him up. Still, he seriously doubted anyone but Kyoko believed him by the time he left.

Tsukune smiled as he remembered his family's stunned looks as he tried to explain blood magic to them.

Suddenly a sharp pain dug into his left ribcage.

"OW! That hurt!"

Despite the pain, he couldn't help but smile at her smirking expression.

"Good! Where was that mind of yours just now?"

He smiled for her brightly, but then he realized he still had his right hand in his pocket. Despite holding it for some time now as he daydreamed, the rosary was still cold to his touch. The cracked cats-eye jewel felt rough and strangely warm.

His happy expression took on an unwilling twinge of pain.

She saw that pain and turned her eyes from him in sadness.

"I'm sorry."

She had barely whispered the words, but they sent him into a frenzy to correct her impression.

No….I was just….."

He desperately plastered a smile on his face as he fumbled for reassuring words.

"I…ah….I was just thinking about this morning. With my family…."

Instead of placating her obvious concerns, these words only seemed to intensify her worried expression.

"Oh, I'm…I'm sorry I…."

Then Tsukune suddenly calmed down, and to Moka's obvious surprise he laughed mildly while shaking his head.

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

He clasped her right hand in his left and leaned in to whisper to her ear.

"I just wish you could have been with me too."

It had never been very hard to make Outer Moka blush, but Inner Moka was a different story.

That his words had hit home with her was apparent immediately. Her alabaster skin flushed a brilliant shade of light pink as her tongue tip darted nervously across the bottom of her upper lip.

"OH! OK, well…..um….good."

She didn't let go of his hand but she leaned away noticeably. Beforehand he might have taken this for a rebuke of his forwardness, but for some reason, he couldn't explain he knew now that he had actually pleaded her greatly with this simple statement.

He couldn't help but feel pride and the rush of victory, that his words alone could have this type of effect on someone as wonderful as her.

Even in this moment of "victory", he felt a sudden sense of being wrong though, but the sudden movement from the seat behind them dispelled all these thoughts instantly.

"Well, I'm not sorry either!"

Kurumu's proclamation, aimed at Moka of course, could only reach his right ear as all his left could hear was the sweet pounding of her heart. She had his head firmly ensconced between her rather large breasts, and he was certain she was sending Moka a defiant smirk since he could just make out the furious glare of red eyes directed to the face now above his own.

Suddenly from under the seat, all three of them were stunned by the rising presence of a fourth person.

"That's right. Not sorry at all our Tsukune-kun is back with us where he belongs!"

Mizore had slid under his seat and her arms were now wrapped around his midsection. Her cool left cheek on his right cheek. She even planted a kiss on his nose tip. He suspected that Moka's furry only intensified at this gesture, but Kurumu's sudden death grip around his head became the more pressing issue.

"You're…choking…me…."

No one seemed to hear him though as another shadow descended on him, this time between where he an Moka sat. In fact, the small figure was sitting on a stunned Moka's lap.

"It's true, it's true! Our Tsukune-kun and Moka-chan are back with us, where they belong!"

Yukari had them both in arm locks, pulling all five of them together, willingly or not.

"HA HA! Perhaps one day Tsukune will also be allowed to breathe again too!"

Barely able to breathe and certain this mostly angry ball of female flesh he was wrapped inside of was seconds away from a violent explosion that would rival nuclear fission, he felt…

Happy.

And…..

Loved.

Then he had an errant thought.

 _"I wish Ruby was in here too."_

Suddenly the pain around his head intensified. For some reason, Kurumu's already tight grip multiplied instantly.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He couldn't explain what happened next but he was standing in the aisle looking back at completely stunned expressions of a twisted knot of four girls now intertwined with each other.

They were looking at him as if he had violated the Laws of Physics.

"WOW! I can't believe I just saw that!"

Fong-Fong was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Ling-Ling, who's normally placid expression seemed a bit more interested than usual was holding on to her brother's queue to make sure he didn't do that very thing.

Ruby, in the seat beside him, whispered up to him with concern in her voice.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded to her with a confused look.

"Why? Should I not be? What happened?"

"Dude!"

The four near the front of the Bus all stared back at him in shock as well. Haiji seemed particularly stunned as he spoke up.

"You just liquefied."

His words made no sense to Tsukune at all.

"Do what?"

Gin cocked a stunned eyebrow at him and elaborated further.

"What Bonehead is trying to say is one second you were…you, being smothered to death by the women that love you."

All the girls seemed to suddenly realize they were still holding each other and broke apart rapidly with varying degrees of embarrassment showing on their faces. Whether they were more embarrassed to be in that position with each other or over Gin stating they all loved Tsukune was an obvious toss-up.

"The next second you had turned into some gelatinous black ooze that poured out around them into the aisle and then suddenly you're reformed into you again."

Apparently, his expression still said he didn't believe them. San felt the need to emphasis Gin's explanation with an emphatic head nod of her own.

"Vampires can't do that!"

Kokoa was on her feet beside Haiji and glaring back at Tsukune with equal parts anger and confusion.

"What are you?"

He knew she wasn't angry at him when she asked this question with such ferocity. Such intensity was just Kokoa's way. He learned this about her long ago and accepted it.

Her aggressive tone struck a nerve with others though.

"None of your damn business! That what!"

To his surprise, Kurumu's claws began to extend from her hands.

"Yeah! Sit down before you get hurt."

Mizore was also on her feet. In her right palm, frosty winds were swirling between her fingertips.

Moka stood and turned to face the two behind her with all the bone-chilling menace she was famous for showing in the glow of her burning red eyes.

"There's no need to speak to my Imouto like that. If you have a problem with her, you bring it to me."

Both girls refocused on her now with ferocious smiles.

"Gladly!"

Kurumu said with a gleam in her eyes.

"We specialize in dealing with uppity vampires."

Yukari, who found herself in Tsukune's old seat and thus unenviably in the middle of what looked like a deathmatch timidly spoke up.

"Whoa! Let's all calm down."

Kokoa, from up front, always willing to start a fight, egged her beloved sister on.

"Get 'em Onee-sama! Show them who's boss!"

With all the tension of the last few days, this moment was inevitable. They cared about each other intensely, but they fought like family.

The pressure of the last few weeks had to boil over at some point.

If he didn't move quickly this could turn into a Battle Royale.

With his right hand, he reached out for Mizore's own right one. When he placed his palm in hers instead of it freezing his hand her magic dissipated instantly. She turned to look at him with surprise but she seemed like she was moving in slow motion.

He gently guided her back into her seat by the shoulders.

He then put his hand onto the back of Kurumu's left hand and the powerful fingernails of both slowly retracted. She barely got her eyes on him before he guided her back to a seated position as well.

He looked to his left and Moka's burning red eyes were on him, but no longer burning. She too looked to be moving slower than normal, but her expression was one of utter shock. Her mouth seemed frozen in the open position.

He took her right hand and gently spun her around to face forward as if twirling her on a dance floor. With a smooth motion, he sat her back in her seat and only when he stood upright again did all three of them and Yukari looked up at him in amazement.

Turning to face Kokoa, again he saw everyone's stunned expressions.

"I assumed I was a Shenso Vampire, like Moka-san."

Kokoa just blinked in surprise as he continued.

"At least that's what I thought I was…..am."

"Tsukune-kun."

He turned to look at the expression of confusion on Yukari's face. He suddenly realized something else had happened.

"What, what is it?"

No one seemed capable of answering that question as he looked around for an answer.

Suddenly Bus Driver began to laugh.

"What?"

Tsukune's voice had a slight edge of desperation now, but Bus Driver laughed his concerns away and began to speak.

"Apparently you not only can turn into a liquid when you want to, but you're also super-fast too boot!"

Gin added on with an awkward look of embarrassment on his face.

"Even I had a hard time following what you just did."

"What I just did?"

Tsukune asked in confusion, and then suddenly realized why just moments before everyone seemed to him to have been moving in slow motion.

It was because he was moving at a super accelerated speed himself.

"Amazing!"

They all turned to see Fong-Fong boiling over with excitement,

"Freaking amazing I tell you!"

Even Ling-Ling was no longer trying to calm her brother anymore. She too stared at Tsukune as if he were an alien from another world.

"Just imagine all the other amazing things Shenso Tsukune will learn to do in the coming days, weeks, months and years!"

Tsukune looked down at his hands as if they weren't his own, and for the first time, he felt truly alone.

"I can't wait to see what you can do! A veritable Wealth of Powers!"

Fong-Fong was genuinely excited about what Tsukune was capable of doing….of becoming.

Tsukune couldn't share his enthusiasm though.

 _"What could I become?"_

Deep inside himself, he felt a fear. A great fear that threatened to destroy everything he was. Everything that made him…..him.

Inside him….inside his blood, was the key to unlimited powers.

 _"The powers…of a God?"_

Even worse, they were to powers of an all-consuming demon.

The powers that had consumed even the mighty Alucard himself.

Moka could see the turmoil waging in Tsukune's eyes. She understood it. She had the same fears, for him, for herself. The same blood that beat in her veins beat in his. The gift her mother gave them both, and a gift she herself had gotten from him…..

….from Alucard.

She reached for his hand, but before she could grasp it his hand had been turned from her reach.

Kurumu had pushed past Mizore and was standing in the aisle with Tsukune. She had both her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look into her eyes.

There was an uncomfortable intensity in the way she looked at him. The warmth and love she felt for him. Everyone present could feel it radiating off of her.

"You are not him!"

Tsukune was stunned to hear her immediately pick out his concerns.

"You are Tsukune-kun and you are a wonderful person."

Suddenly the world around them dropped away and they were the only people in the Universe.

"No blood, no magic, no matter where or who it comes from will be able to corrupt you so long as you do not allow it."

He reached up and grabbed her arms. He could feel her pulling his soul into her own.

"I will not allow it to, nor will they."

He wanted to let go and drown in her soul.

"You are wonderful, and you will change the world for the better!"

He loved her, and he knew she loved him, and at this time and this place they alone where the entirety of all existence.

"And we will stand by your side, no matter what."

Where before they had been imbalanced, by the strength of her will alone the balance had been restored. She knew he was back to normal, and so did he.

When they broke apart, Tsukune felt a cold chill run down his spine.

It was like suddenly losing half of himself.

She calmly retook her seat while Tsukune stayed stunned in the aisle.

From diagonally in front of her, she could feel Moka's…something. Even Yukari knew Moka was wrong as she slid as close to the window as she could get.

Kurumu didn't care though. Tsukune had needed her at that moment, and Moka would just have to deal with it.

"We're almost there."

Bus Driver's statement made Tsukune move to sit beside Moka, but she neither looked up at him nor moved to make him space.

 _"I'm in big trouble."_

He felt a gentle tug at the back of his shirt as Ruby gently pulled him down to sit beside her.

Tsukune couldn't take his eyes off Moka. She practically fumed as she glared at the back of the seat in front of her.

Ruby, on the other hand, looked over Tsukune's shoulder, where she saw Mizore looking at the same person.

If Kurumu was aware of their probing looks she pretended not to very effectively. She looked out the passing Human World with a sad expression.

Normally such a display between her and her "Mate of Fate" in front of Moka would have elicited some gloating and joy form her.

That she joined Moka in unhappiness was a source of some concern and much confusion for Mizore and Ruby both.

Behind them, they heard Fong-Fong and his sister whispering to each other.

"But I don't understand. What's wrong with everyone?"

Ling-Ling shook her head despondently at her far too oblivious little brother.

"We need to work on your mood reading abilities."

Bus Driver's pronouncement had also caused some consternation near the front of the Bus.

The drama behind them waned in their minds as San and Gin sat silently beside each other with looks of dread on their faces.

Beside them across the aisle, Haiji had his arms crossed and a disappointed expression. He rolled his eyes, sighed in frustration, and shook his head like a disapproving old schoolmaster.

"Would you stop that already, it's getting old."

Kokoa had had enough of his thespian display. He turned his suspicious eyes down towards her and spoke in a low tone.

"You really don't know how to mind your own business, do you?"

Instead of angering her she began to smile viciously back up towards him.

"Do YOU?"

He turned away from her mocking gaze and huffed disapprovingly before refocusing on the silent drama on the bench opposite him.

"Alright, we're here."

Bus Driver called out and then looked in his rearview mirror at San, who was on the aisle seat one row back. They exchanged nods as the Bus came to a stop at the front of the Seaside Inn.

"Well ma'am, I believe this is your stop."

"Hey guys, look! It's Marin-san!"

At Ruby's words, all eyes looked left towards the Inn.

She had apparently been waiting near the window for the Bus's arrival. Everyone moved to the left side of the Bus so they could wave and shout to Marin, who enthusiastically returned their waves and greetings.

San had turned slightly away from Gin, who was doing the same thing. They acted as if they were to look at each other they might explode.

San took a deep breath and stood up, then turned to face everyone. To either side of her Gin and Haiji, both rose as if they were her loyal bodyguards.

San seemed to suddenly remember she had her notebook and marker in her hands and began writing furiously. When she was done she nodded and turned it towards everyone for them to read.

"I am glad we won and everyone is safe. I will miss all of you. I hope to see all of you soon. Please come to visit us anytime."

Suddenly all the girls, even Moka, went up front and exchanged hugs with her.

When the girls were done Haiji leaned in and also hugged her.

"I'm going to miss you Sempei! Don't wait too long to fight beside us again, OK?"

She pointed a warning finger at him to tell him he fights a bit too much, then she gave him a warm smile and a nod.

It was hard not to notice that Gin twisted up his mouth when she was hugging Haiji in a less than pleased expression.

She had handed Gin her notebook and pen when the girls began to mob her and she now timidly turned back with her hand out for them. Gin slightly fumbled the handoff and had to dip to catch the pen. The whole thing was incredibly awkward and full of angst.

"Well, Sempei I…..well I mean…..um…San…..I…."

He scratched nervously at the back of his head like he didn't know what to say. Behind San, Haiji shook his head at Gin and huffed with frustration.

Sudden San looked up at Gin and they locked eyes. Gin's words stopped and they just sat there looking at each other. The seconds seemed to stretch for minutes as they gazed at each other as the anticipation and expectation further back in the Bus began to build in intensity.

"Is that loser finally going to do it?"

Kurumu whispered this rather loudly to her seat companion.

"He looks scared to death."

Yukari added on to Mizore's assessment with a devious little giggle.

"It's kind of nice to see true fear in his eyes."

Ruby shot them a look of disapproval before turning her attention back towards the drama up front. With a quiet whisper only Tsukune beside her could hear, she tried to wish her friend some courage.

"Come on Ginei, you can do it."

Kurumu began to smirk at the scene with disappointment.

"He's not going to do it. He's chickening out."

Moka, clearly still less than thrilled with her friend, turned back towards her with a condescending tone.

"Let's give him the chance, shall we?"

Mizori had a curious expression as she made a supposition.

"Maybe she'll make the first move?"

This made Kurumu snicker dismissively.

"I wish SOMEONE would make a move already! The suspense is KILLING ME!"

Yukari's frustration made her whisper sound almost like a normal voice. It caused Gin to momentarily break his eye lock with San, who turned her head away towards the front of the Bus.

The other girls sent the embarrassed and recalcitrant Yukari disapproving looks.

Gin seemed to only then realize San and he were both holding her notebook at the same time. He let go of it and she quickly clasped it to her chest.

He also, in his embarrassment, remembered he had stopped talking.

" ….well I…..I just wanted to…to…to say I….I…"

San turned anxious eyes back towards him, as did everyone else. The anticipation was thick in the air. He looked like he was finally going to say what he really wanted to her.

"….I'm glad you were with us. It was….great having you there again San…..um….Sempei…..fighting beside me, I MEAN…us. Thanks."

The look of defeat and shame on Gin's face was only matched by the look of sad disappointment on San's

"So he punked out on us."

Mizore's face, as usual, was placid, but her disappointment in Gin was plain in her tone.

"Pathetic."

Kurumu's one-word judge was accompanied by a look that said she expected this exact result from the beginning.

Gin and San, without looking at each other, bowed to one another and then she turned to leave.

Gin's sad eyes finally looked at her only when she couldn't look back at him.

"It's always a pleasure Miss San."

Bus Driver tipped his hat at her as she gave him a sad smile and a head nod.

She then turned towards her left and walked off the Bus.

As Marin wrapped her arms around San in welcome, Gin allowed his body to flop back down in the seat he had just been sharing with San.

The aura of total defeat and self-loathing around Gin was palpable.

Beside him across the aisle, Haiji gave his friend a withering look of disappointment.

The girls had again moved to the left side windows to talk to Marin and San before the Bus pulled off.

Gin finally noticed Haiji's disgusted look. After a few more moments he confronted him in anger.

"What the hell do you think you're staring at Block-head?"

Haiji seemed no less angry and leered down on Gin with contempt.

"I think I'm staring at someone who has just demonstrated how truly pathetic he really is. You are totally unworthy of being in San-sempei's presence, let alone to dare to think you can be more to her than what you already are. She is so far above you it's just sad to watch you look the fool in her presence. It's not even entertaining, just…plain pathetic."

Behind him, Kokoa stared at Haiji with widened eyes.

Haiji then turned from Gin and sat down, arms still folded on his chest.

Suddenly Gin and a rage bounded upright and hovered over his friend. Everyone on the Bus, and even Marin and San outside, watched as it appeared that Gin was about to strike Haiji.

Only Haiji seemed not to care at all.

"I'm actually sad for you Ginei. I pity you. San deserves more than a…coward."

With these words, Gin's eyes flashed and a roar left his mouth.

"HOW DARE YOU! TO SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! I OUGHT TO!"

Gin's clenched fist was just centimeters away from Haiji's expressionless face.

Bus Driver chose that moment to impart some words of wisdom over his shoulder.

"What you ought to do young man, is get off this Bus and tell that lady how you really feel about her. I'm not in a particular hurry."

These words stunned Gin out of his anger and into confusion. With a hand gesture Bus Driver gently indicated the way down the steps.

"You seem to have unfinished business here at the Seaside Hotel. We can wait."

From Gin's side, a smirking comment emitted from his friend's mouth,

"This mangy dog is too afraid to face his own feelings. Just sit back down and wallow in your misery and self-pity Dog-boy.

Gin's anger returned and he leered down threateningly at the placid Haiji.

"MANGY! DOG-BOY! I'LL SHOW YOU, YOU BLOCK-HEAD! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!"

With authority and determination, he turned and stopped off the Bus.

As soon as he was off the BUS everyone, except Haiji and Bus Driver, who hadn't been on the left side of the Bus now had their faces hanging out the windows on that side. The Bus even began to tilt in that direction.

An angry Gin walked up to San and Marin, who looked back with mild surprise.

When he saw San though, Gin became timid one again and began scratching at the back of his head.

From the windows, the Yukari, Mizori, and Kurumu began smirking at him again.

"It's true, it's true! She doesn't even need her voice to paralyze him."

Kurumu nodded agreement as Yukari laughed at her own words.

"Wish we all could stop that perv in his tracks so easily."

"Luckily we don't have THAT kind of power over him, or we'd be in the same trouble poor San is in now."

They all nodded at Mizore's words and then began to chuckle.

"I…..I…."

Gin began to stutter again and you could see San tense up as she pressed her notebook anxiously into her chest.

"San…it's just I…well I felt….You see I feel like I…..like we…well I didn't say exactly what I…"

Suddenly, realizing what was actually going on, Marin began to beam from ear to ear.

"Well…..I can see you two want to be alone….so….."

To both other parties' obvious mutual terror Marin, trying not to smirk, raced past Gin towards the Bus door.

As she entered the Bus she called back to the two of them.

"I'll just go say hey to everyone in person. You two take your time."

Once on the Bus, she waved at them again.

"HEY EVERYBODY!"

"HEY MARIN!"

Then Marin turned serious again and pointed at the window beside Kokoa.

"Put that window down Kokoa. I want to hear this too."

Marin then put her hand on Haiji, who still refused to look at Gin and San, and leaned over him so she could hear better.

Where he couldn't be bothered to hear his two friends' mutual love confession, having Marin leaning on him in this way clearly caught his suddenly happy attention.

Kokoa rolled her eyes at him and then returned her attention to the "open air theater" beyond her window. Then Kokoa turned back with an odd expression on her face and whispered to him.

"Well, well, well; someone's not as huge a Block-head as he looks."

Haiji sent her an irritated look before returning his attention to the beautiful mature woman hovering over him.

"You need to work on your complimenting skills Squirt."

Kokoa smirked at him and defiantly crossed her arms.

"Just surprised how…..tactfully…you motivated Perv-wolf."

Haiji worked the muscles in his jaw in a manner that told Kokoa he wasn't exactly pleased by the way things at least seemed to be turning out.

"Yeah, well I'm still not 100% sure on that decision. Just like you're not 100% sure about letting me get to know Akua-san better."

He turned a devious smile on her at the last part of his statement, just in time to see her curl her lip in disgust.

She turned back towards the drama outside as she replied.

"If it's any consolation, your percentage just went up, ONLY BY A FACTION THOUGH."

"SHHHUUUUU!"

Marin and Bus Driver both had fingers up to their lips telling them to shut up so they could listen.

The scene outside had somewhat begun to match the frustrating one that had occurred just minutes before on the Bus. So much so that the girls began to grumble over it.

"Well…..San….what I really want to say is…"

San looked up wide-eyed at the flummoxing Gin, almost terrified by what he might say next, but unable to turn away from him.

"That I….well I don't feel the way I just said goodbye to you was…..adequate…an adequate expression of just how much…how much I've….I've really….missed you….since you graduated."

San began to smile uncontrollably at Gin as he again scratched the back of his head nervously before trying to continue.

"You…you really mean….you really mean a lot to me….San…more than I think you know…more than I have ever told you before…..more than anyone I've ever known…."

"AWWW!"

Gin shot the girls on the Bus an angry look, but San, with pink tinted cheeks, began to laugh a bit.

Gin turned back with a concerned expression but found warm and loving eyes looking back at him.

"I just couldn't let you walk back out of…..of my…..my life, again….without….without telling you…..how much I…I…..I couldn't bear the thought of not…."

San, to everyone's surprise, gently placed her hand over a stunned-looking Gin's mouth.

She had begun to cry and wiped away a few tears from her eyes before holding up one finger to let Gin know she needed a second. She then began to write on her notepad.

From the way he was avoiding looking at it, you could tell Gin wanted desperately to know exactly what she was writing down.

In this, he and their audience were in complete harmony.

After a few moments of furious hand movements, San looked down on what she had written with an unsure expression. After a moment further, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then handed the notepad to Gin with both hands.

Timidly taking the notepad with both hands Gin hesitated in fear of what she might have written down before braving a glance downward.

Suddenly his eyes widened and a small smile creased the corners of his mouth.

"YES!..."

Gin burst out this answer with a total lack of control. Realizing as much he quickly moderated his tone.

"Um….I mean…..yeah, that sounds nice. If you don't think Marin won't mind."

"I won't mind!" Marin shouted to them out of the open Bus door.

Gin then awkwardly returned San's notebook as they exchanged timid smiles. He then asked her for a final confirmation.

"If you really are sure?"

A thunderous roar came from the Bus behind him in high, shrill voices.

"SHE'S SURE DUMMY!"

Once again Gin shot their female friends an irritated look over his shoulder, but seeing San giggle and nod her head, he could only smile back at her.

Gin then bowed lightly towards San.

"Well…until then…"

Gin turned to leave but Yukari's disbelieving shout stopped him in his tracks.

"Um….that's it?"

Mizori shook her head sadly.

"Have to say, I'm still not satisfied."

"Even I must admit I still want…more….."

Ruby had a perplexed expression as she said this, but Kurumu just looked at him like he was a fool.

"Yeah, this won't do wolf-boy."

From the front of the Bus, Marin suddenly moved down into the Bus's doorway.

"Don't worry girls. I got this."

Marin looked back at Gin who returned her determined smile with a confused look.

"You know that's not good enough Ginei-san! You'd better go SHOW that girl how much you care!"

Gin stopped frozen in his tracks. Then suddenly he turned around to see San looking back at him in mild confusion.

The aura around Gin suddenly changed and he moved to stand before San once again.

She looked up into his face with mild surprise as his right hand moved to left her chin gently.

Then he leaned in and kissed her.

"AWWWWWWW!"

The high voices chorused out in approval.

Yukari then made a devious statement.

"Still disappointed. I wanted some lip and tongue work."

Mizore tilted her head back towards the budding young couple as she replied.

"You might still get your wish Yukari-chan."

Yukari's tongue practically fell out of her mouth as San wrapped her arms around Gin and pulled his head down towards her own with authority.

"Well damn!"

Kurumu's simple assessment of what was taking place was appropriate. Even Gin seemed to blush a bit at how much San…wanted his kiss.

"Oh….Oh, my!"

Ruby and Moka both blushed at the scene before their eyes. Moka added her own observations.

"I think that 'problem' has been…solved."

Kokoa and Marin were both watching intently with open mouths. Haiji clearly looked uncomfortable as he continued to pretend nothing was happening. Bus Driver let out a low, approving whistle. Tsukune knew his own face was on fire and moved back slightly so the very distracted ladies didn't look back at him. Ling-Ling and Fong-Fong were also at the windows, both with curious expressions more fit for scientists watching and unexpected reaction occur than the start of a romance.

As Gin and San, lips and arms locked around each other, continued to be oblivious to the rest of the world around them, Marin finally gave a happy shrug and turned back towards everyone else.

"Well….while those two are making up for…um…lost time; let me make sure you all know that you can come here any time you want, San and I would love to have you guys stay again. Just give us two hours' notice and we'll have rooms ready for you guys when you get here. In fact, I insist you take advantage and get your butts back here by next Trimester break or you'll have to answer to me for it!"

Various voices provided their assent to the very welcoming idea.

"We love it here!" Kurumu blurted out with a smile.

Tsukune also commented.

"We'd love to come back, thanks for the offer Marin-san!"

Marin then turned and flashed a brilliant smile at Bus Driver.

"That goes for you too Mr. Handsome Bus Driver man. If all you do is drop these kids off here next time I'll have to punish you for such wickedness."

Bus Driver returned her "warm" grin with one of his own.

"Well, we wouldn't want that now would we, hehe!"

A few of the students had awkward expressions witnessing these two exchanging flirtations with each other.

Mizori leaned in to whisper with Kurumu.

"Is she really flirting with, the Bus Driver?"

Kurumu curled her nose up, even more, as she spoke.

"That's just plain nasty, he smells like an ashtray."

Yukari shrugged upon hearing their words.

"Well, there's no accounting for taste."

Ruby reproached the other girls in her own whispered tones.

"Well, I think Bus Driver is handsome for a slightly older gentleman."

The other three sent her back looks of utter dismay.

"Well…..not Tsukune handsome, but he has a certain…appeal to him, once you get past the cigar smell."

By the looks they were sending back to her, Ruby realized that her "weird" status had only been reinforced amongst her friends.

Kokoa, now with a grimace stared at the Gin and San still kissing each other with dissatisfaction showing.

"Well…" Marin said from nearby. "….I see they're still…..um…."

"This is boring now! I'm going to put a stop to it!"

Kokoa boldly leaned out the window and shouted at them.

"HER TEETH ARE CLEAN ENOUGH! YOU CAN STOP ALREADY!"

Gin and San acted as if Kokoa had thrown ice water on them.

"KOKOA!"

Moka's stunning rebuke of her sister's rudeness didn't seem to faze the younger vampire in the least.

"I'm tired! Either come on or we're leaving you here!"

Gin, completely embarrassed, shot Kokoa a look that could kill a weaker soul. San, a shade of bright red now, had turned completely around so no one could see her face.

Marin giggled at their awkwardness and sent Kokoa an approving wink before stepping off the Bus.

Once she was beside San she turned her to look at her carefully.

"Wow, they do seem cleaner."

San's mouth dropped with a look of utter betrayal as both she and Gin's cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red, much to Marin's obvious satisfaction. Then she spoke to Gin with a knowing smile.

"This week Mr. Morioka, before school starts back up next Monday."

"Um…THIS WEEK…..you're sure?"

Marin smirked back at him while San looked down slightly embarrassed still.

"THIS WEEK MISTER! Don't make me have Bus Driver hunt you down."

Gin scratched awkwardly at the back of his head again.

"OK, if you're sure, I'll see you then Marin-san,…San."

San returned his shy smile and they hugged one last time.

Gin stepped onto the Bus with a stupefied look of happiness on his face. He retook his seat and looked past Haiji and Kokoa towards where San and Marin were waving goodbye. Haiji had his arms still crossed over his chest with a look on his face as if he had eaten a rotten piece of fish.

"Well, well, well. Someone finally found some courage after all."

Kurumu's mocking tone was met by an equal reply from her target.

"Don't be jealous Kuru-chan, there's still time to have these lips of mine on you before I'm tied down to another woman."

Kurumu shook her head with a knowing smirk.

"And…he's back!"

Yukari giggled as she added on.

"There's our pervert."

Mizore called out to him in her cool tone.

"I wonder if poor San-san knows just what a pervert you really are?"

Kurumu then bounced up and caught Tsukune's head once again between her breasts.

"Anyway, it's you who's jealous, pervert! All the lips back here belong exclusively to our Tsukune-kun. ESPECIALLY MINE!"

Gin waved a flippant hand as he turned back around. He could fell the glare Moka had just leveled at Kurumu even from way up front.

It was only now that Gin glanced beside to see Haiji looking crossed still.

"You know, she deserves better than the likes of you."

Gin looked away and placed his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose.

"Yeah, I know that."

Haiji cut his eyes towards Gin before speaking again.

"You know you owe me one."

Gin cut his eyes back towards Haiji before looking nonchalantly back out the window again.

"Um…..I guess."

This response made Haiji huff gruffly.

Kokoa just looked at them like they were both idiots and shook her head.

Hearing them and seeing them in his rearview mirror, Bus Driver chuckled to himself as he shifted the Bus into another gear.


	4. Short Day II

After turning onto a wooded lane off the main road from the seaside, the Bus entered the dimensional tunnel and emerged back inside the tunnel at Yokai Academy. Emerging into the harsh red light of a Yokai Academy version of a sunny day just seconds later, everyone's eyes took a few moments to adjust.

Since leaving the seaside, Tsukune had wanted to ask Moka about her eldest sister's plan to find their father. He knew it had to be weighing down Moka with concern, and he didn't want to exacerbate the situation by bringing it up again, but he thought she might also like to talk about it.

Still, he was unsure. Had he been dealing with Outer Moka, talking about it would have been the obviously correct thing to do.

Inner Moka though….

She still held her mysteries for Tsukune.

At last, he resolved to give it a try.

"So, do you think Akua-san might find your father at Shuzen Castle?"

Moka turned stunned eyes towards Tsukune, clearly not expecting this topic to come up so suddenly. Then she turned away with a frustrated look on her face. As the awkward silence between them stretched on far too long, Tsukune moved to correct the issue.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you before now. If you'd rather not talk about it I'll understand. I'm just worried, for you."

She turned back with a slight smile of understanding on her face.

"It's okay, thank you for asking."

Then her eyes turned from him and took on a distant glaze to them.

"I doubt Father is there. We would have heard from him already. Akua thinks it's a good place to start looking for clues to what might have happened to him though."

Suddenly Kokoa, who had been within earshot of their conversation, popped up and spoke out.

"And she WILL find Father! Have no doubts about that Onee-sama!"

Moka sent her over-eager little sister a rebuking glare.

"I have no doubts Kokoa. Akua will stop at nothing to find Father. What I have doubts about is your ability not to go through the front window if Bus Driver needs to slam on the breaks. Now turn around and sit down like you're supposed to."

Kokoa immediately began to pout as she sullenly descended back into her seat, which seemed to amuse her seatmate Haiji greatly.

"Awe! Precious Onee-sama was mean to the pretty little Kokoa-chan. Awe!"

Having a new target for her rage, Kokoa's mood immediately went back to her usual boisterous defiance.

"Shut it you loli-perv!"

If it had been intended as an insult, it had clearly missed the mark. Haiji just smirked at her even more as he continued to tease her.

"Awe! poor little Kokoa-chan is sad her precious Onee-sama was mean to her."

Now Kokoa's snarling lip was joined by a slight twitch in her right eye.

"You DO know I'm only two years younger than you, right Block-head?"

In the seat across the aisle from them, Gin, finally out of his self-imposed afterglow of saying goodbye to San, sighed and rolled his eyes at the drama to his left.

Now that Kokoa couldn't see her, Moka allowed herself to smile towards her imouto as she bantered with Haiji. Tsukune suddenly leaned in to whisper into her ear.

"So, do you think Haiji is…interested in Kokoa, as a…..?"

Moka sent him a smirk as she replied to him in hushed tones.

"No, I don't get that from him. He's giving off the big brother vibe to me it seems. I think he'd treat Yukari the same way if he didn't think it would bother you."

Tsukune's eyes went wide at this comment and sudden concern welled up inside of him.

"Why… would that bother me?"

Moka's smirk increased as she narrowed her eyes at him. Tsukune suddenly felt his neck and face getting warmer. Just when he thought he might start sweating, Moka turned her eyes back towards where Haiji and Kokoa were still arguing and her expression went soft.

"Anyway…I think Akua is another story though."

Tsukune, glad she changed the topic, immediately joined her new conversation.

"So you noticed that last night too?"

Moka nodded nonchalantly as she replied.

"That could become….interesting."

"To say the least!"

At that moment the Bus rounded the bend and Yokai Academy's main building loomed large in the distance. As they moved closer they could see a stretched limousine waiting at the front entrance. Two tall and thick men emerged from either side of the front of the limo.

From the back of the Bus Ling-Ling spoke up.

"That will be for us."

Fong-Fong sent his sister a very disappointed expression.

"So soon dàjiě?"

She gave him a mildly sympathetic look as she replied.

"Father and Mother want us to come home for a few days. They need help with cleanup work."

Fong-Fong turned around with a pout but clearly couldn't argue his sister's point.

The Bus began to come to a stop beside the limousine when a strange beating sound reached everyone's ears. Sounding very much like the military vehicles they had faced the night before, everyone began to instinctively tense.

"Do you hear that too?"

Gin nodded affirmation to Haiji's question.

"Yeah…sounds like a…..helicopter, sort of."

Kokoa had her head out the window trying to look up towards the source of the thumping sound.

"There are no helicopters at Yokai Academy!"

She wasn't the only one now scanning the skies.

"It can't be a helicopter. How could a helicopter get within the Great Barrier?"

Kurumu looked briefly at Mizore with concern before turning back to continue scanning the horizon.

"You don't think that the government found us and somehow….."

"NO!"

Ruby's response to Kurumu's concerns was emphatic and resolute.

"The Great Barrier is impenetrable to current Human technologies. Except…"

Before Ruby could finish her statement Fong-Fong weighed in.

"It sure sounds like a helicopter though, sort of."

Everyone continued to look upward out of the windows to catch a glimpse of whatever contraption was making the noise.

"Except what Ruby?"

She looked towards Tsukune as he asked her this.

"Well, if the Chairman or Acting Chairman gave prior permission to a vehicle, like the limousine here."

Beside him, Moka shook her head.

"That's not a helicopter. It's doesn't sound….right, to be a helicopter."

"I think our men see it now."

With Ling-Ling's statement, it was clear the two bodyguards were both looking upwards past the right side of the Bus. As if to confirm it the one on the driver's side pointed in that general direction.

Everyone immediately headed toward the right side of the Bus.

"Is that a…?"

Yukari couldn't finish before Mizore began speaking.

"It looks like a….?"

Haiji suddenly became very excited when his eyes saw the flying machine.

"I'll be damned! It's a….."

With a feral smile, Haiji tuned a mischievous expression toward Gin, who now seemed suddenly very irritated and angry. Haiji finished his statement with a clear understanding that no one other than perhaps Gin seemed to have about this situation.

"…A TILT-ROTER!"

Everyone looked on with stunned expressions as the burgundy and silver tilt-rotor swooped in low over the field towards the front of the Bus and landed softly there with the propellers aimed skywards.

Tsukune's eyes were as wide as everyone else's.

"That's an Osprey! A V-22, but it looks like it has civilian markings."

Yukari exclaimed excitedly as she pulled herself up over Tsukune's shoulders to get a better look.

"I didn't think there were any civilian versions of that thing!"

Haiji was too busy smirking at an awkward looking Gin to spare the unusual vehicle too much attention.

"And it looks like it has a familiar logo on its side too! Hey Trust-Fund Boy, does that logo look familiar to you?"

Gin shot Haiji a look that could kill. In a low growl, he replied.

"Can you ever keep your fat mouth closed?"

This only made Haiji shrug with a self-satisfied smirk growing across his face.

"It's not my fault buddy. No way they won't know after seeing that thing, Mister Money-Bags."

Sudden clarity swept over Kurumu's and Mizore's faces at the same time.

"Hey! That logo looks like….."

"….Gin's necklace pendant!"

The stylized wolf's head logo on the sides of the tilt-rotor indeed looked identical to Gin's necklace pendant. All eyes on the Bus suddenly fell on the back of the agitated Gin's head.

After a few moments of silent contemplation, Tsukune was the first to ask the obvious.

"Gin, is that here for…?"

A heavy sigh interrupted Tsukune's question and was followed by Gin standing up slowly and turning around to face the others.

"Yes, that's one of my family's…vehicles."

He looked downright embarrassed to even say that much. Into this tense atmosphere, Kokoa let out a low whistle.

"Well, now we know why Haiji just called you Trust-Fund Boy, don't we?"

She now joined Haiji in smirking at the obviously put out Gin. Moka's eyes focused intently on the tilt-rotor while she spoke.

"Now it makes sense. I always knew that pendant of yours looked familiar. Now I know why. That's the logo for Morioka International. How did I not put that together before now?"

She looked disappointed in herself when she made that last statement. Kokoa joined her sister in suddenly recognizing the name.

"Hey! That DOES sound familiar!"

Haiji stood up next to Gin and slapped him on the shoulder with a teasing smile on his face, much to Gin's continued annoyance.

"That's right kids; you are looking at the eldest son of his generation. Direct heir and future head of one of the largest and most powerful international conglomerates on the Earth. Our very own Ginei Morioka, captain of industry and commerce!"

Gin angrily slapped Haiji's hand off his shoulder.

"Lay off Block-head."

Seeing everyone's stunned eyes on him then, Gin sighed heavily once more and shrugged before speaking to them.

"Look! It's no big deal guys! I'm the same old pervert you know and love to hate. I'm so far away from that kind of lifestyle I might as well be poor."

From midway back, Mizore spoke up.

"You say that, but that expensive piece of equipment sitting over there says you're wrong."

With another embarrassed look, Gin tried to dismiss her assessment.

"I'm decades away from that kind of money. It's really no big deal, really guys!"

Kurumu had her arms folded over her chest and tilted her head at him with a disbelieving expression.

"If you're so filthy rich, why do you live in that mud hut on the side of the woods?"

Gin ignored her comment and continued with his previous dismissive statements.

"Hell, my Great-Grandfather is still alive and we have to go through Granddad and Dad before I ever see the big office from behind the desk. I'll be as old as Great-Grandfather when that happens."

Suddenly from the other side of Haiji, Kokao became super agitated and began to bounce up and down like a jackrabbit.

"WAIT JUST A MINUTE! WAIT JUST ONE DAMN MINUTE! You're saying YOU are NOKIBA Morioka's great-grandson? YOU? He's a legend in the Yokai World!"

Morioka Nokiba (森丘 の牙), is the CEO and President of Morioka International, and Ginei's Great-Grandfather.

Then she sent him a look that said if the man himself had come in and proclaimed Gin his heir she still wouldn't believe it.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Tsukune had a slightly confused look as he asked his next question.

"Wait, your Great-Grandfather's name is 'Fang'?"

Gin waved his hand dismissively and tried to act nonchalant about the whole situation.

"Come on guys, I didn't tell any of you about any of this because it doesn't really matter to me, and I don't want to be treated any different than what I really am. I'm not my family or their money. I'm just plain old Gin. Nothing's changed; it's no big deal, really."

When no one replied Gin began to get worried. Opening his eyes again he looked at them, but they all were deathly silent. Some had even forgotten to keep their mouths closed. They all glared pasted him now, and through the front windows of the Bus, with disbelieving expressions.

"What?...what are you all doing? What are you all staring at?"

"Hehe!"

Gin turned to look over his left shoulder at Bus Driver as he giggled manically.

Without even bothering to turn to see what everyone was staring at Gin suddenly closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose over what seemed to be the onset of a sudden headache, and let out a long and mournful sigh of frustration.

"Damn….it's HER isn't it?"

Bus Driver turned back towards Gin with mirth gleaming in his beady eyes and spoke as he took the cigar out from between his teeth.

"Of course it's her kid, who else would it be?"

Gin turned back towards the others, refusing to look at the oncoming "storm" approaching the Bus from the general direction of the tilt-rotor. Yukari was practically drooling, so was Haiji and Fong-Fong. Kokoa was holding her nose as if a sudden explosion of blood would release at any second. Even Tsukune's mouth was hanging loosely from its sockets. Kurumu became the first on the Bus to move again, directing an oddly disappointed look at the back of Tsukune's head. The other girls were too stunned to react. Even the mighty Moka seemed mesmerized by what her eyes were seeing.

Haiji very admirably became the first of them to refind his tongue.

"That right there could permanently cure my loli-ism for sure! What a woman!"

The spell over them all only now slightly lifted, Fong-Fong added his own bewilderment over the vision of beauty approaching them.

"My GOD! I think I'm going to faint!"

"Admittedly, she's pretty damn hot!"

Yukari seemed as excited as the boys.

"Yeah, well, she's no ME or anything, but…"

Kurumu tried to be dismissive, but Mizore shot her down.

"You are delusional Kurumu, that woman is hotter than even Moka."

Moka sent her a strange look, but then basically agreed with her.

"Well she's….well….um….yeah, she's pretty hot."

Ruby asked Gin the obvious next question.

"Gin, who is this….gorgeous woman?"

She was about Ruby's height and obviously was well built. She had a heart-shaped face like Moka's, but her flame red hair was curly and blew around her face in ringlets. Her chest might have been the same size as Kurumu's, but unlike the later her cleavage was on full display, pushing its way upward between the two halves of her low-cut red blouse and the brassiere under it was clearly struggling to contain the two bouncing mounds of flesh. Her skin was a perfect alabaster that could rival even Mizore's. She wore a remarkably tight black miniskirt which even Yukari might have trouble getting on. The outline of her perfectly round, apple-like posterior was clear to see even from this oblique angle. Her sharply ivory legs pulsated with seductive strength with every single movement as they rode atop mid-thigh high black leather high heel boots.

Even with all this amazing eye-candy available, it was her face that drew one in. Perfect red and luscious lips, an exquisite nose, and the eyes. Two fiery golden orbs blazing with intensity.

Those eyes were locked squarely on only one person.

Gin still refused to turn around. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose again in frustration.

"That's Akaio."

He sighed heavily once more with his arms now crossed defiantly over his chest.

"…she's my…Nee-san."

"YOUR SISTER?"

Morioka Akaio (森丘 赤尾), Gin's older sister.

Stunned eyes rapidly moved from the flame red goddess now waiting beside the Bus door, and Gin at the front of the aisle. None seemed capable of processing that these two were siblings.

Haiji finally vocalized what they all seemed to be thinking.

"There's no WAY you and HER have the same parents!"

Gin simply ignored Hajij's rude assessment. From outside, the flame red goddess whose name was Akaio looked upward through the Bus door lovingly at her otouto inside, who still hadn't bothered to spare her a look.

Bus Driver chuckled at the display as he spoke.

"Anyway, this is the last stop for Miss Huang, Mr. Huang, Mr. Morioka, and I suspect Mr. Miyamoto as well."

With that, he swung the Bus doors open.

Tsukune was perplexed.

"What? We're not getting off here? Where are the rest of us going?"

Moka was equally confused.

"Aren't we going back to our dorms?"

Bus Driver answered them with a knowing smirk as the four getting off here shuffled out past him.

"You let me worry about destinations kids. You just sit back and relax till we get to where we're going."

Despite this new mystery, all eyes quickly returned to the left side of the Bus and the drama that was about to unfold.

Haiji, Fong-Fong, and Ling-Ling all descended to the ground from the steps of the Bus. The two young men both almost tripped as they continued to stare in amazement at Gin's sister. They both seemed to skirt well away from where she stood as if she were a literal flame that could burn them if they got too close.

For her, part Akaio's golden eyes never left her brother as he finally stepped off the Bus. He still refused to even look at her.

Akaio, in a surprisingly timid looking manner, stepped up to right under her brother's chin, staring up lovingly at her him as he continued to appear disinterested and annoyed.

Ling-Ling watched them with a curious expression as Haiji and Fong-Fong continued to try to contain their drool. Both looked as if they'd faint if she looked in their direction.

From inside the Bus Tuskune also seemed quite interested, much to the other girls' mutual annoyance; but they too also wanted to see what was about to happen.

Akaio was practically laying against her brother's chest now, with her hands resting on them. She closed her eyes and sniffed him vigorously. A slight twinge of disappointment stained her perfect features for a split second but she quickly recovered. She apparently enjoyed his scent otherwise and she finally laid her head into his chest with a giant smile and a sigh of relief.

Gin's face started to redden, and he was clearly still irritated, but he did finally speak to her.

"….hello Nee-san."

She opened her gorgeous golden eyes and looked up towards his face with obvious adoration. The girls on the Bus began to share awkward looks with each other. It was clear they didn't think this was how a sister should ever react to her own brother.

"Hello, my precious little baby brother Gin-Gin-kun. Your Nee-chan has missed you so very much. Why this cold treatment of me? Didn't you miss me at all? This isn't how you greet your beloved Nee-chan now is it?"

Gin finally made eye contact with her. He didn't look happy to see her in the least. His tight-lipped response seemed to be biting back his anger.

"It's how I greet her when we're in PUBLIC."

Akaio pouted up at him and pretended to be saddened by his response.

"You know I can't bear it anymore my precious baby brother. Two and a half years and no Gin-Gin-kun to nuzzle with! You couldn't even bother to come home on vacations and holidays? Not even to see ME? I just can't stand it anymore!"

This response made Gin bow his head down, close his eyes, and pinch his nose bridge again in frustration. Akaio took the opportunity to run her well defined and sharpened ruby red fingernails through Gin's tasseled hair.

He leaned into her right ear and whispered intently to her.

"Please don't do this, not here, I'm begging you. Not in front of them."

"Oh, Gin-Gin-kun! I'm sorry to embarrass you in front of your friends, but…..I just have to! It's been so LONG!"

With her delicate hand right behind his left ear, she began to vigorously scratch him there.

"I JUST MISS MY BABY BROTHER SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!"

"No…..PLEASE!"

Then as if he could fight it no longer his right leg began to bob up and down in rhythm with his sister's scratching motions.

"…..OH!...MY!...GOD!"

Several wide-eyed females on the Bus exclaimed this at the same time in utter amazement. Ling-Ling looked on with the curiosity of a scientist making an unexpected discovery.

"Who's a good brother? Who's Nee-chan's good brother? Gin-Gin-Kun is! Yes, he is Nee-chan's good brother! He sure is!"

Gin's face was a shade of red now darker than his amused sister's hair, but for some reason, he seemed incapable of freeing himself from this infinitely embarrassing display. His right leg throbbed up and down with each hand motion his sister made.

 _"This is how his sister does him? Why am I jealous of THIS?"_

Kokoa was clearly embarrassed to even have this kind of thought in her head.

From his seat directly beside and slightly upward from the action, the Bus Driver just slowly shook his head in sympathy.

"That poor kid. Having a sister like that."

Then Akaio showed them all that she wasn't done ruining Gin's life just yet. She effortlessly jumped up on Gin's right side and straddled him around the waist while rubbing her face into the side of his. He couldn't even react to this escalation of his embarrassment. Everyone still couldn't believe what they were witnessing. Haiji and Fong-Fong had already fallen to their knees in amazement.

"Oh, my precious baby brother! Finally, we're back together! I love you so much! Come on and nuzzle with me! You know you want to! NUZZLE ME, PLEASE!"

Akaio dug her face into Gin's and under his neck. For his part Gin was doing his best impression of an upright corpse.

Moka finally found her voice again.

"I have no….words…for what I'm seeing…..it's….."

Yukari continued the rolling statement.

"It's like a car accident, it's horrible to look at but you can't turn away."

Kurumu shook her head as she spoke.

"I actually feel sorry for the pervert."

Mizore nodded to Kurumu's words.

"You can see why he's the way he is now."

Kokoa had yet another errant and deviant thought.

 _"If only me and Tsuk….um….ah…Onee-_ sama _, where this affectionate."_

From their knees, Haiji and Fong-Fong finally dared call out to the red goddess in mutual adoration.

"YOU CAN BE OUR NEE-CHAN TOO!"

At that moment Fong-Fong screamed out in pain as Ling-Ling grabbed his queue and began to drag him away unwillingly towards their waiting ride.

"You already have a Onee-sama brother, and you will be getting nothing like that from me."

Fong-Fong cried out in dismay.

"But I didn't even get to introduce myself to HER!"

Yukari teasingly called out to them from the open Bus windows.

"HAHAHA! Give him a good hair jerk for me Ling-Ling!"

A few moments later the limo drove past with Fong-Fong drooling on the rear window. Trying to get a final look at Akaio.

She was too busy rubbing herself into her dumbfounded brother's side to notice anything else.

"Why doesn't my Gin-Gin-kun want to nuzzle his Nee-chan? You used to nuzzle me all the time. I had to practically push you off me back then to ever get any sleep! Now you don't even like me anymore? Is it because those girls on the Bus are watching?"

She smiled up towards the eyes looking down on her from the Bus, but she never looked at the girls. Tsukune could feel her penetrating golden eyes boring into him. He began to feel way too warm. Not a single female left on the Bus had failed to note Akaio's eyes and their intended target. Five young ladies tensed up as if preparing for a fight.

Gin finally cried out in desperation.

"For the love of God! It's because EVERYONE is watching!"

Akaio smiled seductively up at her little brother.

"Well, that's just not acceptable Gin-Gin-kun!"

Akaio placed her high heels back on the ground and gently turned her mortified brother back towards the Bus to face the others.

Gin practically whimpered a plea to her then.

"NO! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT, JUST DON'T DO….."

Akaio directed those sultry eyes of her back towards her audience looking down from the Bus's windows, then, much to Gin's obvious horror, she tenderly placed the tip of her tongue against his right cheek.

Kokoa and Yukari both grabbed their noses to prevent sudden massive blood loss. The other four women on the Bus all gasped in unison and moved to cover their stunned open mouths.

Tsukune's mouth was stunned to open too and drool threatened to drop unchecked from it at any second.

Haiji, who was seeing this from ringside on his knees couldn't even muster enough strength to stay upright, falling to his side as if suddenly paralyzed.

All Bus Driver could do was sigh sympathetically and continue to shake his head at what they were witnessing.

Akaio slowly dragged her tongue up her catatonic brother's cheek right cheek, clearly either enjoying the sensation or enjoying everyone's reactions. When she finished and flicked it off the point of his cheekbone, she turned those mysterious eyes of her's back towards the Bus's windows, and seductively moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

"OH MY GOD!"

The girls once again chorused in stunned unison.

Tsukune couldn't even form coherent words.

"yyu….umm….yuaa…"

From his place on the ground, there was great concern Haiji was about to go into convulsions.

Bus Driver finished shaking his head and clamped his cigar back between his lips.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS GIRL?"

Another stunned female chorus was followed by Bus Driver chuckling before adding a statement of his own.

"Hehe! Miss Akaio has always really loved her baby brother."

Gin stared blankly at the side of the Bus with a completely defeated look while Akaio stared with a self-satisfied smirk at the girls on the Bus.

At their feet, poor Haiji may have already died from shock.

Akaio was very pleased with herself.

 _"Let those disgusting hussies spread this around the school and Ginei will be home where he belongs right after graduation."_

"Did you….have to do that to me?"

At her brother's words, Akaio sent him a concerned look and stroked the back of his head lovingly.

"Did you have to completely abandon your family when you came here baby brother?"

Gin whined at her words.

"To answer your question, yes, I had to. You clearly need to be reminded that your family comes first, middle, and last, baby brother. You have only yourself and your own actions to blame. Be grateful I didn't put on a full display for them."

She turned towards the Bus slightly but then turned back to whisper to him again.

"And don't think for one second I can't smell that disgusting bird-girl all over you. Nasty!"

Her smile never broke, but Gin knew she was angry, but he was even angrier.

"Now that you have…..completely ruined my existence….can we please go?"

She smiled indulgently to him.

"In just a minute baby brother. I have some business to take care of first."

She turned back towards the Bus then.

 _"Too bad I don't see bird-girl on here. I know that was her with them last night. I can smell her stank all over my Gin-Gin-kun too, which means he was nuzzling with HER! She's the one who needs to see exactly which pack Gin-Gin belongs too."_

"Of course."

She could hear the sarcasm dripping from Gin's mouth.

"…..family business, always the family business."

For the first time, she gave a true frown. She knew they were dangerously close to Gin abandoning the family entirely. She couldn't live with that. SHe WOULDN'T live with that! She didn't reply though and moved toward the Bus door.

"I…..love….you…."

If she heard Haiji's whispered plea to her from his place on the ground, she ignored it.

Gin looked down on him in disgust.

"Get up Block-head! Show some dignity!"

Haiji began to sit up but threw a reply barb up at Gin.

"That's rich! You talking about dignity after THAT!"

Gin turned away annoyed as Haiji found his feet and dusted himself off.

Then there was the sudden crack of a sound like thunder, and Akaio had suddenly disappeared to everyone's astonishment.

"Where did she…"

Moka never got to finish her question.

"Over here dears!"

They were all stunned to see her leaning near the front of the Bus beside Bus Driver.

Akaio then turned a bright smile down on Bus Driver.

"Long time no see Mr. Bus Driver! How's it hanging?"

Bus Driver took his cigar out and smiled upwards towards her.

"The same as always Miss Akaio. I can see you are also the same as always. Still love to make as much trouble as possible, huh?"

She shrugged at him with a happy smile.

"You know me!"

"I sure do! How's working for the family business going?"

"As you'd expect with a family business. It has its good days and bad."

Bus Driver nodded his understanding. Akaio then took on a sad expression.

"Too bad about the Chairman. I always liked him."

He beamed back up at her.

"Cause he always let you off the hook."

She smirked down at him viciously.

"Let's just say, he understood the individual needs of his pupils. Congrats on the promotion though."

Bus Driver shrugged awkwardly.

"Well….it's only temporary, till we get the permanent replacement ready. Too much desk work for me to do on a regular basis."

She smirked back at him.

"I know, the open road is your one true love."

Suddenly Akaio began to sniff the air around her with pleasure, then she leaned in and began sniffing Bus Driver, who took such strange actions with solid stoicism. He had apparently expected her to do such a thing.

"Oh MY! I have missed that scent almost as much as brother's! You didn't think all that nasty cigar smoke was going to cover her scent up from my amazing nose, did you? Has Mr. Bus Driver been petting my favorite sensei lately?"

Bus Driver smirked up at her with a gentle smile.

"That's really none of your business, now is it Miss Akaio? Anyway, your sensei is too busy to play with you today, and I suspect your Great-Grandfather expects to see his heir sometime today as well."

Akaio playful smacked his shoulder.

"AWE! You're still mean as ever! You never would let me catch my pretty sensei! I just wanted to play with her a little."

This made Bus Driver laugh hard.

"Hehe! That was for your safety more so than for her's."

In the privacy of his own mind Bus Driver added additional comments that Akaio or anyone else didn't need to hear.

 _"Though she did seem to be quite terrified you would catch her eventually."_

* * *

Between the two women, there were two wine glasses and two and a half empty bottles of wine. The two obviously drunk women were laughing near hysterically at a kitchen table in someone's house. Sudden one of them wobbly jumped to her feet in sudden fright. Staring confusedly up at her drinking companion, the woman with long dark hair fumbled to push her glasses back up her nose as she inquired what was wrong with the other woman.

"What's wrong with you? Step on your own tail again?"

She laughed at her own sense of humor, but her companion was suddenly in no laughing mood.

"Um….well….no. It's just I suddenly got a really bad feeling."

She rather clumsily scanned the area around them as if expecting an intruder to pop out from the living room or one of the bedrooms at any second.

"It's like someone is talking about me behind my back, or something or someone from my past is going to jump out and…chase me….."

In her mind, the blonde woman with slightly shorter hair remembered the last time she had been chased, by a redheaded demon dog of a student by the name of Morioka Akaio. A shiver ran down her spine thinking about that crazy redheaded werewolf chasing her around Yokai Academy while she screamed in terror, the crazy girl's tongue flopping behind her as that feral grin got closer, and closer, and closer…

 _"No Shizuka! The she-wolf hasn't been back here since graduating, not even to see Gin. IT'S NOT HER! IT'S SURELY NOT HER! It's all in my head!"_

Kagome reached up and pulled Shizuka back down into her chair.

"You either need to stop drinking or have another glass of wine. One or the other."

With these words, she emptied the contents remaining in the third bottle into both their glasses. Shizuka turned hers up and swallowed it in one gulp.

* * *

Akaio began to profess her innocent intentions to Bus Driver.

"That's not fair! I wouldn't have hurt Sensei-chan."

This fake innocence made Bus Driver chuckle again.

"Hehe! Sure kid! And she wouldn't have hurt you either, I'm sure."

They both laughed then.

While the two continued to reminisce up front, the others had come together to whisper among themselves.

"Damn! She was on the Bus faster than even I could track her. She's faster than Gin for sure."

Kurumu nodded agreement to Moka.

"Yeah, and she's clearly insane too!"

"Crazy and fast are always a bad combo."

Ruby added on to Mizore's assessment.

"And what's all this she's saying to Bus Driver about a sensei?"

Kokoa, as usual, took Ruby's words too literally.

"Clearly knowing him and talking about a sensei means she's a former student, duh!"

Yukari glared past them up towards the front of the Bus.

"Well, there's no way we'll let her get to our Tsukune."

Tsukune, having been wisely quiet so far, let an errant thought cross his mind.

 _"You guys do remember I'm a shinso vampire now, right?"_

To his surprise, they apparently had forgotten that fact as they spoke in complete agreement with Yukari.

"RIGHT!"

Tsukune didn't even consider that the girls might have meant defending him from Gin's sister in a different form of "combat".

When the girls turned back toward the front of the Bus to form their solid "wall" to defend their Tsukune, there was a sudden inhale of air from each of them. Only Bus Driver was there, smiling back at them.

Tsukune was equally stunned, but for a slightly different reason. He was certain all the other people on the Bus were in front of him, yet he felt fingers parting his hair, and warm breath on his neck.

"Apparently your Harem doesn't realize that with a werewolf's excellent speed comes outstanding hearing as well?"

The girls turned in horror to see Akaio staring back at them as she stroked a blushing Tsukune's hair.

"Not surprising, Gin tends to be a bit reserved for a werewolf about showing off our abilities."

Tsukune, with six angry women leering at the person whose mouth was dangerously near his neck, tried not to show he was getting aroused by her proximity to him.

"Isn't the silver-haired one supposed to be a shinso like you too? I'm honestly not impressed just yet. She seems kind of slow, really."

This comment made Moka suddenly smile. Tsukune knew that that was the worst thing to see on Moka's face in this situation. Suddenly a blindly fast fist grazed Tsukune's right earlobe.

"Damn, no way she'll dodge that one."

Tsukune expected to hear the sickening sounds of Akaio's facial features succumbing to Moka's knuckles.

"My, my, my! Such a temper!"

Tsukune turned to see Akaio sitting on the back of the last row of seats wagging her finger mockingly towards a fuming Moka.

"I guess there's no mistaking who the Alpha female of this group is? Must be hard to stay on top with these other females always nipping at your heels though. Always trying to nuzzle with the Alpha male behind your back? Baying loudly for his...'attention'?"

"HEY!"

Kurumu suddenly called out to her in defiance.

"None of us try to hide nuzzling with him!"

Yukari shook her head in amazement at her elder friend.

"She completely missed the metaphor, as usual."

Ruby whispered into Yukari's ear.

"And the point."

Akaio had crossed her legs at an angle that exposed her thigh to Tsukune's line of sight. He was having a hard time not looking at it as she dangled the other leg dangerously on top of that one.

"They sure are a protective bunch when it comes to their Alpha male, aren't they? You have a whole pack of wanton females baying at the moon for you to mate them. It's amazing they can cooperate this much with them all wanting your puppies. Does "silver-hair" share well or is she a greedy Alpha?"

Moka practically growled back at her now. Tsukune thought he could hear her teeth grinding, and her eyes were taking on a dangerous shade of red.

"Why YOU!"

"Did she just say "puppies"?"

Yukari looked like the thought of having Tsukune's "puppies" was going to make her nose bleed again. Mizore as always was perfectly blunt.

"Awe! I would like to have Tsukune's puppies."

Akaio smirked with amusement and then turned those mirthful golden eyes back on Tsukune.

"You know Dear, I can see why they're so defensive. You sure do smell great, and you're a super cutie on top of that. Add that amazing shinso power and the fact that you're now a celebrity to boot, and these girls will be fighting off tons of lusty girls and slutty women throwing themselves at you! Miss Akashiya here is going to need the rest of these girls just to help her manage THAT full-time job. Lucky YOU! HUH? Even her sister is guarding you like she's ready to breed."

As six girls reset their fighting stances with these words, Kokoa's "war-face" suddenly cracked and was anything but intimidating as she tried to overcome Akaio's accusations.

"I…ah…I, I don't even like the Maggot! But I'll kick anyone's butt that tries to mess with Onee-sama!"

Then they all gasped again at Akaio's sudden disappearance.

"Whatever you say cutie."

When they turned around to see Akaio with her arms crossed back next to a very amused Bus Driver, she winked knowingly at Kokoa, which made her already pink cheeks flare up bright red.

A sudden blur pasted them forced them to turn once more to see Akaio playing with a still blushing Tsukune's hair.

"You know sweetie, I am tempted to try you out myself. Show you what a real woman can do, a real Alpha female."

With these words, she gently bit Tsukune's right earlobe, which made him blush profusely and made the girls' already boiling blood seem to be on the verge of explosive release.

"But alas, I don't have the time and it looks like your pack is getting angry over my…'friendly' nature so I'll…."

"HAHA!"

Moka interrupted her with a surprisingly defiant laugh and a smirk.

"I see you like to talk as much if not more so than that pervert brother of yours. Well, I am sorry I haven't impressed you yet, but seeing how we just met, and you are Gin's sister, I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt and hold back on you."

Tsukune say the whites of Moka's glowing red eyes go black, and he knew she was about to unleash her full power against this teasing woman.

"But since you insisted on pressing the issue, and you want a proper demonstration of shinso ability. Allow me to finally introduce you to whom is the only true Alpha female on this Bus as I show you your proper…"

Moka, in a blur as fast if not more so than Akaio had been, launched herself for the woman's face with her claw-like fingernails extended from her right hand.

"…PLACE!"

Akaio, already too late to dodge the attack, could only think about her mistake in underestimating a shinso's power, or how jealous she can get.

 _"Damn! I knew she wasn't trying yet but I didn't expect this!"_

Moka's smile let Akaio know she also knew she had won. Her nails were only millimeters away from giving Akaio a permanent daily reminder of her folly every time she looked in a mirror.

 _"And here I allowed myself to think I could match her. Even if the full moon were out, there's no way I'd get my face out of the way in time. Great-Grandfather wanted confirmation of the shinso abilities, I hope my scared face will be enough…"_

Akaio wasn't just sitting there waiting for her delicate skin to be ripped open. She was moving as fast as she could to get out of the way. She did have enough experience with high-speed movement though to know her efforts would ultimately prove futile.

 _"This is going to hurt."_

She braced for the blow and the tearing sensation.

It never came.

From the corner of her eye a large hand, a man's hand, moved even quicker than Moka's and grabbed her by the wrist.

 _"Gin-Gin-Kun?"_

Then she realized Gin couldn't have gotten in position fast enough to be there.

She saw an equally stunned expression on Moka's face as she looked down on the surprise intruder's appendage now pushing her hand away from Akaio's face

 _"…..WOW!... How did he do that?"_

Akaio watched in amazement as Tsukune wrapped his free hand around Moka's waist as the two twisted horizontally in midair down the aisle past her. Moka seemed just as surprised by Tsukune's eyes looking at her's just millimeters away.

 _"He's…I can't believe how fast….he's….."_

Then he impressed them both once more. Once he was at the lower end of the twist his right foot planted in the aisle and using their combined momentum he forced them both into a standing upright position on just his one leg.

They finished in what looked like a flamenco pose with their hands above their heads and the other set of hands on the small of each other's backs.

The look they shared was beyond "warm". They were painfully in love. Akaio even felt a twinge of jealousy.

 _"He's next level. He's truly amazing."_

Having just escaped a near scrap, Akaio wasn't foolish to stay in arms reach of Moka, even if Tsukune was there to stop her. She wasn't as fast as him, but she was close enough for Akaio to be wary of.

By the time she finished this thought she had moved pasted the other stunned girls and was again by Bus Driver's side.

He smiled knowing up towards her.

"Impressive, ain't they?"

She smirked while still looking back at the young lovers locked in their dance pose.

"A bit."

This made Bus Driver chuckle again.

Moka looked into Tsukune's eyes with amazement and wonder.

"…..how?" was all she could ask him, which made him blush profusely. He leaned in to whisper into her ear. It took effort on her part not to show how much she wished it were a kiss on her neck instead.

"Let's not injure Gin's sister. Seems to be a bad way to end the day."

When he parted from her to look into her eyes again she lowered her hand to touch his cheek as he wrapped the other hand around her waist as well.

"Well…if you insist."

They then turned back towards the front of the Bus at the sudden sound of enthusiastic clapping.

"BRAVO!" Akaio called out as she clapped.

"Now THAT is more like it! THAT is what shinso power should be!"

Akaio then stood and bowed lightly in their direction.

"I'd truly love to stay and get acquainted with all of Ginei's good friends, Kurumu Kurono, Mizore Shiriyuki, Ruby Tojo, Yukari Sendou, and Kokoa Shuzen."

She nodded to each in turn. She even winked again a Kokoa knowingly, which made her target flare red around her neck as she glared back at the audacious woman.

Everyone seemed put off by the fact that she had known them by name this whole time.

"And I would just love to have a complete sparing match with you Moka Akashiya, you indeed have lived up to your illustrious reputation, as only the daughter of Issa Shuzen and Akasha Bloodriver could."

Then she very deeply bowed in Tsukune's direction.

"And of course the greatest honor is having met you, our new Dark Lord."

"New Dark Lord?"

More than one voice repeated her words in surprise.

"It is truly an honor to finally meet you, Tsukune Aono-sama."

"Um…..what?"

These were all the words a stunned Tsukune could muster.

"On behalf of our esteemed Great-Grandfather, Nokiba, and the entire Morioka Clan; please accept our humble greeting and salutations oh Great Dark Lord! Please know that Great-Grandfather is most appreciative that you have befriended our Ginei and taken him under your wing…"

Gin screamed to her through the open Bus windows.

"WHAT!? Damn it! I'm HIS Sempai!"

Akaio ignored her brother's protestations and continued.

"…and he looks forward to the day soon when he can meet the New Dark Lord in person."

Tsukune continued to have a confused look on his face, but beside him, Moka looked at him with concern. She clearly understood the implications behind the title this woman had used for her Tsukune.

Akaio was gone then. It took them all a second to realize she had again wrapped herself around her defeated brother.

"Don't worry guys! I'll have Gin-Gin-kun back to you all soon. Make sure you tell all these other hussies here at the Academy to behave themselves around him or they'll answer to me!"

Kurumu leaned out the Bus window and called down to her.

"Feel free to keep him as long as you want!"

"Yeah! Don't bring him back till you get your 'feel' of him! Hehe!"

Mizore followed in on the teasing right behind Yukari.

"Two, maybe three years' worth even!"

Gin only had enough energy left to glare at them in annoyance.

"Can we please…just…go now?"

Suddenly Akaio crawled up on her defeated little brother's back, forcing him to give her a piggy-back ride to the waiting tilt-rotor. She only then gave the way too excited Haiji a glance.

"You are….Haiji Miyamoto, right?'

"I'm….I'm…I'm…..a…."

Gin sighed heavily as he answered for his dumbfounded friend.

"That's Haiji."

"Yeah!...I'm Haiji."

Akaio appraised him briefly before speaking again.

"He'll do, I suppose."

Gin sent her an agitated look over his shoulder.

"What do you mean 'he'll do'?"

Akaio smiled down on Haiji from Gin's back as Gin looked on in suspicion.

"So you're my Gin-Gin-kun's little friend?"

Haiji replied with way too much enthusiasm.

"Yes O Great and Gorgeous Wolf Goddess!"

Akaio smirked at him with mirth showing in her golden orbs.

"Well, you want to go keep him company? It's only for two nights and you'll be back after that."

"What the hell?"

Gin clearly put off by this suggestion, but Haiji didn't let the grass grow under his feet before responding.

"I get to be near you, ride in the tilt-rotor AND stay at one of your family's undoubtedly amazing homes? YES, MA'AM! I'd love to!"

Akaio nodded, before adding a caveat.

"I of course plan to spend as much time with my Gin-Gin-kun as I can, but Great-Grandfather does expect me to work some. He can keep you company while I'm working."

Akaio then leaned in and in a sultry whisper let her hot breath carry her words to Gin's ear.

"But don't you worry my sweet Baby Brother. The first thing we'll do is get in the bath together so I can scrub every inch of you clean. I'll get my fingers in every nook and crease and make sure none of your pretty fur is matted. I CAN'T WAIT!"

Gin winced and blushed at this suggestion, only to have her add fuel to this particular fire with her next words.

"And you can return the favor. I'll let you scrub every inch of me too baby brother."

Gin looked mortified, which only made that wicked sister of his happier.

"Let's just go already!"

With these words, Gin stomped off with Akaio riding him like a horse. Haiji was quick to move after them in fear of being left behind.

"Really nice to meet you all!"

Akaio waved to them all as they departed. Near the Bus door, she hollered up towards Bus Driver.

"You tell sensei that I'll be back day after tomorrow with Gin-Gin-kun, and I'll make sure I've budgeted enough time for me to come to play with her properly, Okay?"

Bus Driver chuckled at this as he waved bye to her.

"I'll be sure to warn her!"

* * *

Once again a very drunk Shizuka drunkenly jumped up from her chair, knocking it over this time.

Kogame stared back through alcohol dimmed eyes with a frustrated expression.

"Again?"

As she looked around nervously. Shizuka screamed out at her companion in obvious fear.

"I FEEL LIKE I'M BEING STALKED! THERE'S EYES ON ME EVERYWHERE!"

Kogame sighed and shook her head.

"I'll open another bottle."

As she stood she began to stumble and fell in the floor, laughing. Shizuka practically leaped up onto the table at the sudden sound and let out a cat-like screech and hiss which only made Kogame laugh even more.

* * *

As the siblings and Haiji moved off towards the waiting tilt-rotor Tsukune tried to avoid looking at Akaio's rear end.

 _"How in the world does she not show some panty in that miniskirt sitting that way?"_

The errant thought made Tsukune spare her rear another quick glance in a final hope, then suddenly a pain struck him from the right side of the head.

 _"Did Moka see me looking?"_

When he looked in her direction she looked back more concerned for him than angry.

It was only then that he realized that from across the aisle from them, Kurumu was sending him a downright vicious look.

 _"Huh?"_

Her angry expression changed suddenly to shock, and then to an awkward smile before she turned away from him.

 _"Damn, I need to stop that. I shouldn't have this lack of control!"_

Kurumu berated herself for having done that without thinking.

Tsukune wasn't the only one to see that Kurumu had sent him a rare angry expression. Mizore and Ruby caught each other also witnessing the act, and awkwardly exchanged curious expressions.

"Here we thought Kyoko had a brother complex…."

Only Mizore, Ruby and Kurumu could hear Yukari's whispered words. They all began to snicker.

"What's that guys?"

Tsukune called back to them to see what they were laughing about. They answered him in unison.

"OH! NOTHING!"

For some reason that made them all snicker more as they moved back to take their seats now that the Bus was moving again. Tsukune seemed confused, but Moka sent them rebuking glares.

Once back in their seat, Yukari again whispered to Ruby.

"I wonder who Akaio's 'sensei' is?"

From Akaio's own words Ruby suspected that a certain feline teacher was undoubtedly Akaio's "sensei", but Ruby had a more pressing issue on her mind at the moment.

"I'm more interested to find out more about what you told me last night."

Yukari's mirthful expression took on a momentary cast of confusion before clarity shown in her eyes.

"Oh yeah! I just know there's got to be something in his medical records that was bothering Dr. Yuji."

Ruby pensively looked out the window as the Morioka tilt-rotor's two propellers began to whirl up for take-off.

"I hate to pry into his business, but it's our duty to protect him. We need to know if there's something that threatens him."

Yukari's eyes flowed Ruby's line of vision just in time to see the helicopter/airplane hybrid lift off the ground.

"We can't let another incident like what happened with the Protection Committee last year. We have to know everything we can about our Tsukune to keep him safe. He may no longer be a simple Human, but his powers and notoriety make him an even greater target than before."

With her eyes never leaving the tilt-rotor until it was beyond her ability to follow it any longer, it was clear Akaio's "interest", really Morioka Nokiba's interest, in Tsukune had reinforced Ruby's suspicions that Tsukune was not going to be left alone by anyone.

It was only then that Ruby and Yukari both looked at the back of Tsukune's head a couple rows up from them.

"Right! Now we just have to figure out how to get our hands on that file."

Ruby threw her right arm around her exuberant young co-conspirator's shoulder and gave her a reassuring half-hug.

"All in good time Yuki-chan."


	5. Short Day III

Gin's sullen expression looked down on the top of the rapidly shrinking Bus as it rolled along the dusty Yokai Academy road. He'd clearly much rather be there than here. The exuberate Haiji was clearly happy here though, as his wide-open eyes moved around the small passenger cabin.

"Was that….display…..down there really necessary?"

Gin didn't bother to look back towards his sister as he asked her. She directed a sympathetic look towards the back of his head.

"Haiji-kun, would you be a dear and go up to the cockpit for about ten minutes? My baby brother and I need to have a little chat. Tell the pilots I told them to show you how the Osprey works if you want to know."

Instead of jumping at the chance, Haiji directed a questioning look towards Gin. Gin nodded slightly to let his friend know it was okay.

"I'm sure I can make it fifteen minutes if you like Morioka-san."

She smiled back to him as he replied.

"That would be lovely, and please, call me Akaio."

This made him blush a bit, but his initial stunned phase over her great beauty seemed to already be mellowing somewhat.

"Sure thing, Akaio-san."

Haiji stood and with a final look at Gin, moved toward the cockpit door. He tapped on the door and waited for them to motion him in. When he opened the door he spoke to the pilots.

"Hey guys, Miss Akaio said you'd show me how to fly this contraption!"

Once the door was latched behind Haiji, Akaio slid over and curled herself around her brother's exposed right side. She lifted her feet up into the bench style seat and nuzzled his right chest with her head. Gin didn't look nearly as annoyed at this as he had been on the ground, but he still looked out the window with the same sullen expression.

"I'm sorry I embarrassed you in front of your friends Gin-Gin."

When he didn't respond at once, she began to nuzzle him again and even made whimpering noises.

"Stop that!"

Gin twisted his body in discomfort, but not so much as to dislodge his sister from her embrace of him.

"Haiji can walk back at any moment. My reputation is already ruined by your display back there. The girls will never let me live THAT down. The last thing I need is….."

Akaio effortlessly began to nuzzle him and whimper again.

"I won't stop till you acknowledge me. Quit pretending you don't want to. No one's here for you to be embarrassed in front of."

Gin rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"…..fine."

Gin finally turned his head and moved in toward Akaio's face. They rubbed their noses together, which seemed to fill Akaio with absolute delight, then Gin turned again to look out the window with a dissatisfied look, which stood in stark opposition to the happy smile his sister now had as she laid her head back down on his right chest with a contented sigh.

Then Gin lowered his right arm which had been stretched across the back of the bench seat and placed it along Akaio's shoulders, which magnified her happiness even more.

"NOW! I finally have my Gin-Gin-kun home again."

Gin spared her a knowing and amused smirk before returning his eyes to the far horizon.

"And I am sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your friends, but I haven't laid eyes on you in two and a half years! You're lucky I didn't pee on your leg."

Gin involuntarily winced at that provocative statement from his sister.

"Well, you're certainly right about that!"

He turned to chide her angrily.

"See! Right there! Stuff like THAT is why I didn't let you visit me! Not to mention how traumatized Miss Nekonome would be if you suddenly showed up."

Akaio pretended to be confused as she answered him with a pout.

"Awe! But I love Shizuka-sensei! She's my second favorite person beside you! I love to get right up on her running and nip at her whipping tail! Seeing her even in terror gracefully bound about in front of me, zigging and zagging just inches from my snapping sharp teeth! IT'S SO MUCH FUN! I hope I can track her down the day after tomorrow! I miss her so much!"

Gin shook his head at her in bewilderment.

"Well, she certainly doesn't miss YOU!"

Returning his eyes again to the outside word he continued.

"One, you aren't getting off this thing when I go back, so just forget about that. Two, even if you did, she'll have ample warning and be long gone beforehand."

Akaio angrily frowned at this.

"I bet mean old Bus Driver has already warned her. He never did let me catch her. I just want to play with her a little. She's such a pretty kitty!"

Gin rolled his eyes again at her.

"You really are a strange one Nee-chan."

Still laying into him, Akaio put her right hand on Gin's inner upper thigh.

"I'm really excited to have you home tonight Gin-Gin-kun. Nee-chan's going to make you forget she embarrassed you today."

Gin's body tensed like a guitar string tightened to the breaking point, yet he didn't move his sister's hand from his leg.

"There's a window on the cockpit door and no one is going to understand if Haiji turns around and finds you digging around down there."

Akaio huffed in a disappointed way and reluctantly removed her hand.

"Whatever Gin-Gin, but we ARE going to have to wash you before you see Great-Grandfather. If for nothing else but to wash HER scent off you."

Gin sighed in frustration.

"Um…..here we go. Now we get to the real reason that old mutt sent you to grab me back for a 'visit'. That old fart hasn't given two shits about me these last few years. Yet the second he sees San and me fighting together on TV….."

Akaio finally released her grip on him and set back upright. She looked at Gin with a mixture of sadness and disappointment.

"Now Gin-Gin, you know the second I saw that 'bird-girl' on TV with you I was the one that insisted…"

"DON'T call her 'bird-girl'."

Akaio glared at him with anger boiling between them now.

"I'll call her what I damn well please Genei! I remember her scrawny little first-year ass from my third-year. As much as you enjoy shapely women to think she's the one you want to…..make 'chicks' with…..YUCK! It really is just too much to wrap my head around."

She then turned and pouting, crossed her arms over her ample bosom.

"If I didn't miss you so much I certainly wouldn't be lying on these clothes you're wearing with her….um….aroma, YUCK! She smells like chicken. And to think now you're nuzzling with her…."

Gin was in no mood to play this game with her.

"If you can't quit being JEALOUS of her and use her proper name in my presence, then you can go back over there and we cannot speak to each other for another two and a half years."

Gin suddenly felt sorry he had been so harsh when Akaio began to look like she would cry.

"Don't do that."

He stretched out his arm to pull her back down into him, but she shrugged off his hand.

"I'm sorry. Really."

He tried again and this time she returned to her prone position on his side with her head again resting on his chest.

"You love her more than….."

Gin had to work hard not to sound overly frustrated as he replied.

"I…..love her…..differently than I love you. Damn it Akaio, why must you do this every time I see you? I can't change the fact that…"

Akaio looked up at him with desperate sadness radiating from her golden eyes.

"But you still…..you still…"

Gin turned away toward the window again with the saddest expression showing on his face. He couldn't let her see how much pain this caused him. He could never let her see that.

"…..how could I not?"

Akaio suddenly brightened with a smile like a million suns. She wrapped her arms back around him and squeezed him into her with all her might.

"OH, Gin-Gin-kun!"

She nuzzled furiously into his chest, never seeing the despondent look in her little brother's eyes.

"OK….that's enough for now. I'll leave you alone about…San, for now, okay?"

Gin managed a smile to go with his accepting nod and the two brushed their noses together again as a way of making up wordlessly.

They sat there holding each other in silence for a few minutes more. Gin continued to stare longingly out the window at a wider world that seemed to be receding farther and farther from him every moment. Akaio, intensely happy to have her much-beloved baby brother in her arms again, was just happy he was back in their closed off and secretive world with her once again.

Their private world where silly human and yokai morals didn't cloud Gin's judgment, in her opinion.

He had a destiny to fulfill. A destiny to fulfill with her.

She would bear the Morioka Clan's future in her womb.

She would bring forth their greatest member. Her child would be the long-awaited Mooncaller of legend. The great werewolf who would unite the werewolf packs of the world and bring forth the golden age for Lycan-kind everywhere.

She even felt confident enough, at last, to bring up the topic Gin never seemed to want to address.

"You know it wouldn't be the first time in the history of our clan when siblings…."

"Let's drop that too for now, please."

She wasn't as disappointed he didn't want to talk about it as she thought she might have been, It's not like she didn't have him safe in her arms again. There was time for that to be discussed later.

"….Okay my precious Gin-Gin-kun."

But she couldn't let him off that easy, so she sadly whimpered as she tightened her grip on him once again.

"Stop that!"

Gin's voice sounded more amused than angry now, which pleased her greatly.

"We'll always be special to each other, even more so than if we weren't each other's only siblings."

Akaio nodded happily and then asked a question in her most seductive voice.

"You still going to let me wash you?"

Gin let out a heavy sigh before replying.

"…you'd give me a choice?"

This made Akaio giggle with delight.

"HEHE! No….you'll always be MY baby brother! I just hope whatever whore you eventually marry understands how…..special…..you are to me. I simply won't have some random woman get between us."

Gin looked down sadly at the top of his admittedly stunning sister's red and curly hair and gave it a sniff.

She always smelled wonderful, too wonderful for a brother to take notice of…in a "normal" family.

"You know Great-Grandfather wants you to officially marry one of our cousins. To keep the wolf's blood pure."

Gin pursed his lips in a frustrated manner.

"A fate you yourself have somehow managed to avoid so far."

She shrugged nonchalantly as she replied.

"He has a soft spot for me, plus he knows I don't like any of our marriage age male cousins. They all want greater access to the big office and they think getting in my skirt is the way to it since I've become Great-Grandfather's shadow."

This time she joined her brother as they looked out the window with saddened eyes.

"What about a male from another clan?"

"I've met most of the available ones on business trips. They're all worse than the cousins. My adorable baby brother's reputation has preceded me throughout the International Werewolf Community. Which means I have to fend off every Beta looking to get to our company's money since my baby brother has let it be known he wants to be an Omega where Morioka International is concerned."

Gin sighed in mild frustration.

"Not sure how anyone came to that conclusion. It's not like I sent out an email saying I hate the company business."

He let a bit more frustration leak out into his voice as he continued on.

"Hell, I still have a trimester of high school yet! What the hell do people want from me?"

Akaio could sympathize with her brother's frustration, but she couldn't let him forget unchangeable facts of his existence.

"Well, what Great-Grandfather is going to want is for you to take a job in the corporation so you can start learning the business. He's pretty much going to demand a commitment from you if not tonight, then when you graduate in a few months."

Gin angrily shook his head in frustration. Akaio gently patted his chest to comfort him.

"Damn….I was born a slave to this damn family…"

She gently nuzzled him and whimpered warmly to him.

"I know you want to pursue your own interests, but that's not your destiny my Gin-Gin-kun. You are the eldest son of the eldest son of the eldest son. You will one day be the Pack Master of the Morioka Clan. That is your destiny. My destiny is to be there to support you every step of the way."

Gin looked down at his sister in frustration.

"It should be you. You like it and you're good at it. I'm three generations away from that old mutt. Why can't I just have a little time to live my own life? Well, too bad Gin! Here's your wife that you'll probably never really have a connection with, go make puppies. Here's your boring job that you'll hate till the day you drop dead, get to work!"

Akaio shook her head sadly to her brother.

"But it can't be me, there's only one person in the family that can keep it all together for our generation and that my poor dear brother is you. And I'll be by your side every step. I promise."

She then looked at him intently.

"At the end of the day, all I really want is to be a wife and a mother to the next generation of our family."

She placed her hand again on Gin's thigh and leaned in dangerously close to him.

"Your wife doesn't have to be someone you'll never have a connection with."

Their noses and foreheads were touching now and Gin was trying hard to ignore her intoxicating scent and the warm breath on his cheek.

"It can be someone you have had the deepest connection to for your entire life."

She gently kissed him on the side of his lips.

"It can be someone who you already know loves you better than anyone else possibly could."

She kissed him lightly again. Gin hated himself for liking her kisses so much.

"You have been mine from the moment I first I laid eyes on you. Our children would be…"

"Akaio!"

He gently pushed her away from him, but she didn't seem phased as she leaned back in and his resistance began to falter.

"The greatness of the Morioka Clan is founded on our blood purity."

This time when their lips met they both parted. When they separated a moment later the only defense Gin could muster was a weak one.

"Haiji…..is just…."

"I don't care."

Again she kissed him, again he returned it despite his mind telling him to resist.

His own heart was a traitorous bastard that he couldn't help but despise.

As they parted again she looked lovingly into his eyes and drew her hand gently up to his cheek.

"I have never been ashamed of my love for you, my sweet Ginei."

She kissed him deeply again, and this time he put up no resistance.

Later on, he would hate himself for betraying his feelings for San in this moment, but he couldn't deny Akaio this. He was too weak to deny Akaio this.

They parted again and she looked on him with the most intense love, and surprisingly with sympathy.

"We are the strongest of our generation. One of our children will certainly be…."

"Please don't."

He gently placed his fingers on her lips.

"Please don't throw superstition into this. I know your feelings for me are genuine without having to resort to…"

"Okay."

She had taken his hand from her mouth and held it between her breasts with both hands.

"No superstition, just facts. Each generation of our family has only gotten stronger with incest and we are the living proof of that."

Gin tried to pull away but Akaio held him to her even more intently.

"Think of how amazing our children would be. They would be the real world equivalents of the Mooncaller."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I DO, and so do you."

She used her right hand to pull his head in again for another deep kiss.

"It's in our blood."

When they parted she rubbed his cheek with hers and gently nipped him on his neck.

"I love you so much that I can share you with the cousins, I can even share you with…..San."

It looked like it pained her to say that.

"Your lineage is too important for any one female to bear alone."

"Akaio-chan, you ALSO deserve…..."

Gin stopped mid-sentence and brushed the tear streaming down her left cheek, but Akaio never stopped smiling at him. It was her time to silence him with her fingertips.

"I know this is hard for you Gin-Gin-kun, but I want you to know that I will wait for you to come to your own decision. I will never force you to choose me over anyone else, so long as at the end of the day you know who loves you the most."

She gently kissed him on his lips again and then pulled his head backward down between her breasts. They both looked out the window now.

Laying in his sisters' arms, laying in the arms of a woman who had never been allowed to see him as "just her brother" Gin felt sorry for them both.

Lycan, werewolves, have a long history with single generation incest. They don't share that information outside their community for obvious reasons and they rarely talk about it among themselves, but it was there and it was prevalent.

If Gin had to guess, nearly sixty percent of werewolf mates were at the very least first cousins, and nearly ninety-five percent were at least second cousins. It was an oddity to marry outside these parameters and hard to do if you planned to marry another werewolf, since you'd have to go to Europe or the Western Hemisphere to find a werewolf you weren't closely related to, and you'd still probably be third or fourth cousins.

Brothers and sisters? If Gin had to put numbers to it then he'd assume nearly twenty-five percent, one-quarter of all werewolf mates were siblings.

Where incest in human and most yokai societies are frowned upon partly for the genetic harm it could do the offspring, in Lycan genetics all the most powerful Lycan genes seemed to be the recessive ones.

Akaio wasn't wrong, there were no two other Lycan that could hope to match either of them.

She wasn't wrong about their potential children either. Generation after generation of inbred Lycans had only produced faster, stronger, even smarter Lycans.

It seemed to Gin to be a strange sort of curse from the Gods. To make your best possible genetic partner your own brother or sister seemed cruel, at least from an outside perspective.

And that's what Gin had now, an outside perspective.

Because of San. Because of what she means to him.

He could never imagine her accepting this twisted family "arrangement".

In his nearly fanatical and insane pursuit of making a Morioka Mooncaller though, Nokiba had gone to even greater lengths than other clans. Akaio and he only had one set of grandparents, who were each other's siblings. His grandfather had two other wives, both also daughters of Nokiba and their long-dead Human great-grandmother. Those two sister-wives had only ever produced daughters, whom Nokiba married off to other clans or distant cousins so outsiders wouldn't suspect what he was doing.

Had the other clans found out they'd come after the Morioka, no matter how powerful they were. The balance between the clans was regulated by intermarriage and mutual distrust. Trying to make a Mooncaller, a supreme werewolf who could take over all the clans didn't fit in that careful balance.

Akaio and his parents were also siblings. Their mother's twin sister was also their father's wife, and her three daughters with him, his "cousins", all expected to be wed to the only male of their generation as well.

What Gin wouldn't do to have a brother or two to help lighten his burden to the family.

He loved his family. He even loved that scheming old bastard in the corner office, despite all of his cold and calculating machinations that had led his descendants to this point.

Ginei knew he didn't have a choice anymore, not a real choice; but in his heart, he swore that his own children, no matter who their mothers were, would never have to face this horrible decision. Somehow, someway, he would break this cycle.

He only needed to figure out how without destroying his family in the process.

* * *

The early afternoon sun of August beat down on the Bus as it kicked up dust along the Academy loop road. The only cool breeze was generated by the Bus's own movement through the air, and calling that dirty mixture either "air" or "cool" seemed an affront to reason and the senses.

Kurumu called out "Isn't this the way to the day schools for elementary and middle school Yokai?"

Yokai Academy had only a decade before began offering day schools to all grades of yokai children, but the schools were small and held in the same building which was less than half the size of the Yokia Academy main building and had only a third the number of students.

Tsukune knew it was out here but never had a reason to visit it before. Yokia Academy Hospital Annex was the furthest down this road he ever got from the Academy without being on the Bus. Of course, he had seen it from a distance many times on the Bus before including last night.

Mizore, who looked particularly cool in the warm air of the Bus with her trademark lollipop dangling from the corner of her mouth, spoke up with a simple comment.

"Yeah, I think so but I'm not sure. Tsukune and I have never been this way before."

Moka wasn't the only one to send Mizore and angry and questioning glare, but she was the first to speak up

"How would you know whether Tsukune has ever been this way before?"

Before Mizore could add a purposefully provocative comment to try to irritate Moka, Tsukune spoke up to try to defuse the building tension.

"Well she is right, I haven't."

Yukari smirked knowingly at Tsukune from across the aisle.

"That's not the point Tsukune-kun."

Mizore's calm and even tone contained a mirthful twill that matched the gloating half-smile and twinkling gleam in her eyes.

"Tsukune goes nowhere where I don't follow him. It's my job to watch his every sexy move, and record it in my Tsukune Journal."

To emphasize her point she held up her infamous Tsukune journal, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. To her right, Kurumu looked sideways at her seat companion in snarling contempt. From in front of them, Moka looked back at Mizore with glowing red eyes that looked as if they'd shoot out death rays at any second.

All Tsukune could do now was smile and shake his head. How quickly they had all fallen back into their old patterns. Tsukune couldn't help feeling reassured by it all, and happy. He needed all the reassurance and happiness he could find these days.

"Yup! Well, it makes sense now doesn't it?"

Yukari shrugged resignedly at the usual display with a somewhat satisfied smile of her own. Between her and the window, Ruby looked on with an expression of odd approval.

"So creepy stalker girl is still creepy as ever. Big deal."

With these words, Kurumu turned away and began looking out the window at the approaching school as if she couldn't even see it.

Tsukune couldn't help but feel that Kurumu was greatly troubled by something. At that moment Mizore caught his eye and gave him a shy smile and a knowing wink, which instantly set him to smiling profusely. He could feel his cheeks enflame as well.

Then a felt another set of less admiring eyes glaring at him from beside him. Seeing her red eyes glaring at him Tsukune instant lost his smile and blush. In a rather petulant huff, Moka crossed her arms and turned away with a pout.

 _"That's not like…HER."_

Before Tsukune could explore that thought further Yukari spoke up again.

"Have any of us been this way before? Not on the Bus I mean."

Everyone shook their heads from side to side or acknowledged her question with a "no" response.

All save for one, who now looked out the window on her side of the Bus the same way Kurumu had been doing just seconds before. Tsukune thought he was probably the only one that noticed that Yukari's question made Ruby act as if she had suddenly become a whole in space trying to disappear.

But he wasn't the only one to notice Ruby's strange silence.

"I noticed you didn't say that you haven't been this way before Ruby-chan."

Looking down slightly at her seat companion, Ruby smiled back awkwardly before answering reluctantly.

"Well I…you see I…well I do odd jobs around the Academy. You see….it's a long story."

Before Ruby could go forward with a further explanation, Kokoa from up front turned with an incredulous expression towards Bus Driver.

"Spill it! Where are you taking us?"

Bus Driver, in his usual manner, slowly took his cigar out from between his teeth and smiled first at the irritated Kokoa and then back towards the rest of them now eagerly awaiting his response.

"Hehe! To your new dorm of course."

"NEW DORM? WHAT?"

The near-universal shock at this proclamation caused them all to intone out in unison. All except the still awkward looking Ruby that is.

Kurumu called forward towards Bus Driver for an explanation.

"What new dorm? There doesn't seem to be anything out here."

Mizore had a contemplative expression on her face as she spoke up as if only talking to herself.

"Perhaps Tsukune and I should have come out this way before now?"

Kokoa smirked down suddenly at Bus Driver.

"I think Bus Driver is playing a joke on us. There's nothing around here."

He just smiled back up at her with even more mirth showing on his face.

"Honestly it's all woods on both sides of the road."

Moka was right. They had long passed the day school and were surrounded on either side by the usual Yokai Academy seemingly barren trees on both sides.

Tsukune couldn't help but doubt there was anything this way than the other exit tunnel from the Great Barrier a few kilometers up the road.

Yukari then pointed at a recalcitrant looking Ruby.

"She knows something about all this! Come on Ruby-chan, Spill it!"

"Well, you see…I….."

Before Ruby could finish Bus Driver spoke up over her.

"You guys might want to sit back down. We're about to turn down the road to your destination."

"ROAD? What road? We're on the only road here!"

"There's nothing but trees on either side."

The two lady vampires spoke almost at the same time.

Bus Driver only looked back with his most sinister smile yet.

"You think so, huh? Hehehe!"

Realizing that Ruby, who indeed seemed to know more than the rest of them about what would happen next, had taken the back of the seat in front of her in one and wrapped her other arm to secure Yukari beside her, Tsukune did the same to the slightly surprised Moka.

Suddenly inertia pushed them all to the right side of the Bus as it suddenly careened towards the woods on their left. As the trees began to fill the front windows, and screams began to fill the air along with Bus Driver's maniacal laughter, Tsukune was reminded of the previous night when a similar scene occurred in a parking garage.

 _"He's enjoying this way too much."_

To add accent to his thoughts Bus Driver shifted the transmission into a higher gear, which seemed to match his mirth levels exactly. Then the devil himself confirmed Tsukune's suspicions.

"HAHAHAHA! I'm starting to enjoy this!"

A few moments later, when the only sound was still the Bus moving along and her conductor seemingly dying of laughter, they all timidly raised their heads up over the seats in front of them.

"Um….what the?"

Moka spoke up next after Mizore.

"Shouldn't we be eating tree branches right now?"

Only Ruby hadn't sunk reflexively below seat-level at what seconds before had seemed like impending doom. She softly called out to them now in a shy but clear voice.

"It's okay everyone, we were never in any real danger, you see we just crossed…."

"….A barrier."

Kurumu had a surprised look as did Ruby, but then Ruby's eyes softened and a small smile creased her visage with the realization that Succubi are barrier sensitive.

"I could feel it. But it was just a…an illusion barrier?"

Asking this of Ruby, Ruby nodded to Kurumu confirmation that she was correct.

Everyone exchanged odd looks at this sudden turn of events, but Ruby went into further detail about the barrier they had just crossed into.

"It's a little more than a simple illusion barrier. It's designed to also keep anyone without the proper access key or on the Bus from crossing it as well."

Yukari directed a suspicious look upwards towards her fellow witch.

"Where are we Ruby-chan?"

As a way of answering Ruby pointed out the windows on the right side of the Bus.

"What are those buildings over there?"

Moka added on to Tsukune's obvious question.

"They're taller than the surrounding trees! How did we never see these buildings from the top of the school or the dorms before?"

From the seat behind them, Kurumu and Mizore finished each others' words.

"The barrier! It's an illusion barrier so it….."

"…. hid this whole area from the rest of the school."

Kokoa still had her incredulous expression up near the front of the Bus.

"And these are dorms? But all the students at Yokai Academy live in the old dorms already? Who are these dorms for?"

Instead of wasting time asking the intentionally obfuscating Bus Driver this question she aimed it back towards the recalcitrant looking Ruby. With a hand gesture, she indicated again towards the buildings off to the far right of the Bus.

"Well you see guys…..this is the….."

Two parallel apartment-style buildings with what looked like a shared common building low between them stood a few hundred meters back from the dusty road. A turn off with a sign near the front led past a roundabout with a large fountain whose flowing water shown brilliantly in the summer afternoon sunlight. On either side of the entrance road stood relatively small ponds or lakes on either side of the roundabout and its' fountain. A significantly much larger lake set behind the compound. They could see a large set of swimming pools, several tennis courts, and what looked like a volleyball court off to the sides of either apartment building.

They could also see a few people using these amenities and even two boats in the large body of what behind.

Then they began to recognize a few faces among those near the front.

Ruby then confirmed their newfound suspicions.

" ….this is the Teacher's Village."

"Teacher's Village?"

Once again they showed their unity best when they were in mutual shock.

Then most of the wide eyes began to move to the increasingly embarrassed looking Ruby.

"You guys never asked yourselves how the teachers got to work every day from the Human World? I mean, have you ever seen cars other than the Bus on the roads here or ever seen a teacher not walk up to the Academy on foot? Where did you think they were coming from, some far away parking lot?"

Tsukune smiled at the rather defensive-sounding question from Ruby.

"I guess we never…I mean…."

Yukari finished his words for him

"…we never really….gave it much thought."

Suddenly everyone's expressions took on a sadness to them.

Tsukune had a sudden revelation.

"Wait, Ruby…..is this where you've been living this whole time? With the teachers?"

Ruby smiled awkwardly back to him and the others.

 _"All these months and someone finally asks me if I have a roof over my head. For all they knew I've been living in a broom closet. Well, at least it was Tsukune who asked first."_

She then answered his question aloud.

"Well….yes, but no. I don't live here in the apartments but I do live nearby."

One person who was obviously more impressed with the buildings than concerned with Ruby's living conditions was clearly Kokoa.

"So, are we going to be living here in the Teacher's Village? It looks a lot nicer than those old ratty dorms, but it would be kind of weird living next to the teachers."

Suddenly Mizore wrapped her arms around Tsukune in apparent fear.

"There's no way I can live here, with…the teachers…..we're not living here, are we Tsukune?"

She had stunned all of them with this uncharacteristic action, but Tsukune instantly suspected he understood why. Mizore confirmed he was correct by whispering her reasons to him.

"I won't live near that bastard Kotsubo, Tsukune."

Tsukune embraced her fully and smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we're not living here. No matter what."

Ruby gave Mizore a reassuring smile as she confirmed Tsukune's statement as fact.

"Tsukune is right; this isn't where we're going to live."

"There's no way any of us would live with that jackass Kotsubo or slutty old Ririko!"

Kurumu's "fire" had returned and her nails had extended a few centimeters out.

"Damn straight, cause this school would need to hire two new teachers shortly thereafter!"

Yukari's wand glowed in defiance in her hands as she made this bold proclamation. Tsukune was confused how Ririko-sensei had been lumped in with Kotsubo-sensei so effortlessly, but he wisely decided some questions didn't need immediate answers.

Kokoa huffed disappointedly as she crossed her arms and glared longingly at the seemingly palatial Teacher's Village.

"Well…guess that answers my question."

Suddenly Bus Drivers voice filled the entire Bus.

"For numerous reasons, it would be inappropriate for any of you students to live among the teachers."

Moka took the opportunity to stand and approach Bus Driver from behind. Leaning in she spoke directly to him.

"I have a better question. Why are we not just going back to our original dorm rooms with the other students?"

Trees again blocked the view of the Teacher's Village as Bus Driver leaned back to answer her.

"Well, that's an interesting topic."

He shifted gears as they reentered a wooded stretch of roads.

"Most of you don't realize this yet, except perhaps for Aono-san there who has been in the Human World today, but you folks are now somewhat celebrities. Along with all those military vehicles out there last night were also a lot of News helicopters and other such recording devices."

Everyone else who followed Moka to the front of the Bus now exchanged additional concerned looks at this revelation.

"You seven, in particular, seem to have been quite photogenic last night. They didn't get good angles on Gin, Haiji, San or any of the others, but today your images have been broadcast to the four corners of the globe and back. Welcome to stardom kids!"

Everyone but Tsukune eyes began to bulge in sudden shock at their changed circumstances.

Moka tried to hide her concern, but the tenor of her voice indicated she was concerned.

"But….that….well it's just, who in the Human World would recognize any of us?"

Kurumu tried to provide additional comforting words.

"Yeah! Only Moka has ever gone to a Human School, and that one was affiliated with the Chairman. Plus, she had pink hair and green eyes when she went to school there. No one should recognize her now."

Moka self-consciously took her silver locks in her hand and briefly looked at it with concern.

Yukari, with a very concerned expression, turned worried eyes up at the seemingly calm Tsukune.

"Seems the only person here who the Humans could figure out who they are is…"

Everyone else immediately picked up Yukari's meaning and joined her with worried expressions aimed at only one person now.

"TSUKUNE!"

Tsukune then smiled back at them and gave a small hand gesture to indicate his own lack of concern.

"Look guys. It's really nothing to be concerned about. They didn't get a really good picture of any of us, including me. Seems the Self Defense Forces kept civilian news crews on the ground away, so every image they have of us is from long distance helicopter cameras. My family and I went through all the papers and TV news reports this morning. The best picture they have of me, you can't even tell I have a nose."

No one seemed convinced by his words, especially Moka.

"What about the military themselves? Soldiers these days wear video cameras, and you did get right in front of those soldiers to free Kokoa last night."

Before Tsukune could answer Bus Driver spoke up yet again.

"Which is just one of the reasons we are relocating you kids to the inside of the Teacher's Barrier. Another is the fact that while Humans don't have any way to know who you are, almost every yokai on the planet has seen you guys on TV now as well. Most of them could identify the Three Dark Lords on sight alone. They know they are gone now, there's no telling how they will react. There are a few yokai that will not be happy that we have been exposed to the Humans now too. They may seek to take out their frustrations on the Academy, and you kids in particular."

More stunned and concerned looks were exchanged as Bus Driver continued.

"Add to that the fact that Fairy Tale is leaderless now, but there are still plenty of them out there to make life difficult, and that's just icing on the cake of reasons to put you kids in more secure housing."

Bus Driver then added more context to their discussion.

"Shortly after the battle was broadcast last night, the Academy phone line and email started filling up. Parents of other students realize that with the World knowing we exist now, and the Three Dark Lords gone, things could get dangerous here at the Academy."

Yukari found a sliver of humor to exploit in these tense words.

"You mean MORE dangerous?"

Mizore nodded agreement.

"It was already pretty dangerous."

This made Bus Driver nod and chuckle a bit before continuing

"To reassure the parents and assuage their concerns we told them that the students involved in the Minato Mirai incident would be housed away from the rest of the student population until they graduate. And this is the result….."

With a hand gesture to his right, all eyes looked towards the woods on that side. It was clear to see through the thick and barren trees that a clearing lay on the other side. A second later the first glimpses of a peaked roof could be seen between the trunks.

"Whoa! What was that?"

Kokoa's words were synchronized with the last of the trees disappearing on their right side.

"It felt really strange."

Yukari wasn't the only one rubbing at their foreheads with discomfort.

"Sorry guys"

Ruby looked truly recalcitrant now.

"I should have warned you, especially you Kurumu. I'm so used to the Chairman's Barrier I forget how strong it is the first time you enter it."

"ANOTHER BARRIER!"

Moka called out in slight irritation as she and Mizore supported Kurumu between them, who looked almost drunk and had nearly just collapsed in the aisle.

"And a pretty damn powerful one too…."

Ruby's expression became more regretful with Kurumu's nearly slurred words. She quickly moved to explain.

"It's the third and final protective layer. It resides within the Teacher's Barrier which itself is inside The Great Barrier. It, like the other two barriers, forms a 720 degree, three-dimensional protective bubble. Only The Great Barrier Control Room under Yokai Academy is more heavily protected, and not by much."

Bus Driver added on to Ruby's words in a tone that reflected genuine awe.

"This is the most powerful barrier in creation, designed by Master Toho Fuhai to never allow anyone in who does not have the Chairman of Yokai Academy's blessing to do so. It also will block any individual with any maleficent intent, what-so-ever, from entering."

Kokoa then smirked downward at Bus Driver.

"Yeah….OK…but what is so important in here that it needs THAT kind of protection in the first place?"

Bus Driver sent her back his most innocent looking expression, which of course was a bad one, and effortlessly replied.

"Why…you guys of course! The Chairman of Yokai Academy and his….um….lady friends. Hehehe!"

At these words first confusion streaked the faces of the girls, then it slowly turned to stunned revelation as they awkwardly began to look at a seemingly very embarrassed looking Tsukune.

Kurumu was the first to blurt out a question.

"Wait a second! Are you saying our….Tsukune-kun is now…Academy Chairman?"

"Well technically…"

At the sound of Tsukune's own voice answering instead of Bus Driver, the shocked faces that were beginning to drift away from him snapped back towards him instantly.

"Well…..yes, but…."

He stopped mid-sentence seeing that his words only made the saucer wise eyes of the girls grow even larger.

"When were you going to tell us Tsukune-kun?"

He tried to answer Mizore's question.

"Well, I just…..literally Bus Driver told me just….."

"Does this mean that you…."

Yukari's question was cut short by a sudden outburst from the disbelieving Moka.

"Tsukune! You haven't even graduated yet? How can you possibly be the Chairman of a school you're still attending?"

He shrugged awkwardly and began to try to explain.

"Well you see, technically I'm the….'future'…Chairman. Right Bus Driver?"

Bus Driver smirked and giggled as both men on the Bus realized that Tsukune was begging him for rescue.

"Correct, Mr. Aono must first graduate and then, per Mikogami-sensei's will, he will become the next permanent Chairman of Yokai Academy. Till then the Vice Chairman will serve as Acting Chairman while training Mr. Aono in his future duties and responsibilities."

Everyone exchanged odd looks then except for the two men and Ruby. A chorus of female voices asked the obvious in unison.

"Vice Chairman?"

"Didn't even know such a person existed."

"Who could it be?"

Kurumu and Mizore's question forced a squirming answer from Ruby's lips.

"Well, the Vice Chairman is…he's…"

As her eyes drifted towards the front of Bus the other eyes, still stunned, fell on a giggling Bus Driver.

"Hehehehehe!"

It was only then the truth hit their brains like a ton of falling bricks.

"BUS DRIVER?"

Bus Driver nodded and made his opening statement to a small part of the student body of Yokai Academy

"Don't worry kids, I promise to be firm, but fair."

Their disbelieving looks only made him laugh even more.

Once he was done laughing he spoke again.

"By the way kids, we're here."

In all the excitement about the Chairman's Barrier and then Tsukune and Bus Driver's new responsibilities, they had seemed to never notice the Bus had entered the clearing.

Everyone's eyelids were going to need a long rest after the workout they were receiving today.

Before them stood a large three story house. Not exactly a mansion, but nearly three times a usual home size.

Their glowing and stunned expressions were accompanied by Bus Driver's words.

"Welcome, to the Yokai Academy Chairman's Residence, and your new home."


	6. Short Day IV

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sadly I can not upload the SketchUp file of the Chairman's House that I have made, much less show you images of it as if this were an actual manga or anime. I must paint it for you with words and the next two chapters will contain a lot of description of this new site, as a lot of the future action for my story will take place here. I have still included a great deal of dialog between the main characters so I ask those of you who are not design nuts like me to patiently bear with me till we get past this point. I promise lots of drama is waiting on the other side!

* * *

Their eyes couldn't bulge out any more than they already were as they took in every detail of their new "dorm." Even the usually stoic Moka was having an exceedingly a hard time not letting her jaw drop wide-open in shock. After a few moments more to let them try to adjust to their new living arrangements, Bus Driver let out a mild cough before speaking to them in a low but friendly tone.

"You kids can get out now. This is your stop."

He pulled the door trigger to open it and slowly the group began to pile out behind Ruby. Bus Driver stepped off as well once the others had exited.

"Better than those old ratty dorms, huh kids?"

Stepping off the Bus had clearly not made this moment any more "real" to them than it had been before. Wide eyes and open mouths still abounded amongst them. Only after another twenty or thirty seconds passed did one of them finally find the will power to speak.

"It's huge!"

Kurumu's none-to-subtle proclamation was like a dam breaking, as many other voices began to reveal their mutual shock.

"We're really going to live here?"

Bus Driver simply nodded at the disbelieving Mizore's question with a slight smile.

"Hey wait…."

Yukari suddenly rounded on the unprepared Ruby.

"….Ruby-chan! Is this where you've been living all this time, really?"

Ruby had already answered that question but now that they had seen the magnificent dwelling for themselves, they clearly were back in the disbelieving category. For her part, Ruby again looked very embarrassed by all of this.

"…well….yes."

"You were staying here, alone, with the…Chairman?"

Kokoa's pointed question contained the same level of shock and disgust in its tone as her facial expression.

Now those wide eyes were all again on the very awkward looking Ruby.

"Um….well….honestly no. The Chairman rarely came here. He didn't even sleep here. The truth is I've had the run of the place to myself since I got here."

Pretty much every expression in the group softened at this bit of news.

 _"Whoa…that's a relief!"_

Tsukune didn't know why, but he found great relief in hearing that Ruby and the Chairman weren't living here together.

"And WHY exactly is that a relief to YOU?"

Tsukune felt instant shock and embarrassment as Kurumu leveled an angry expression at him.

"…Um…who, me?"

His awkward response made Kurumu mimic his embarrassed expression, both now blushing and looking like they wished to escape the strange scene they had just created together.

Moka wasn't the only one now looking at Kurumu with suspicion.

"No one said anything Kurumu. Who are you talking to?"

Kurumu seemed to shrink under Moka's witheringly suspicious glare.

"I…..um…..sorry. Thought I heard Tsukune say something. My mistake. Sorry, Tsukune-kun."

Tsukune awkwardly nodded with a slight smile as he responded to her. He looked relieved that she had answered that without him needing to speak.

"No problem Kurumu."

 _"I was thinking that same exact thought though, how did she….."_

Before Tsukune's mind could go any further down that particular rabbit hole, Ruby's voice perked up and redirected everyone's attentions, much to Kurumu's relief.

"Of course, I being alone here is no longer going to be a problem starting today."

Mizore suddenly had a eureka expression on her face.

"Whoa! Wait a minute…..I just realized….."

Not for the first time had these two seemed to be on the same wavelength as Kurumu seemed to finish her thoughts for her.

"Hold On! This is real? You mean we really get to…"

"All of us, including Tsukune-kun, will be living here…."

Moka's voice held much more concern than the previous two speakers and the final speaker's enthusiasm was palpable as Yukari blurted out the most important point of all.

"….together?"

Bus Driver sent Tsukune, who once again was blushing profusely for some odd reason, a devastating grin before he confirmed the girls' statements.

"That's right. Unless, of course, one of you ladies has an issue sharing common areas with a man?"

"HELL NO!"

"Wait a second…"

Kurumu, Mizore, and Yukari's enthusiasm fell from them instantly at Moka's loud and immediate retort. They all clearly expected her to try to ruin their dreams of living with their beloved Tsukune-kun at the hour of victory."

"It does seem…..highly inappropriate for boys and girls to be living in the same place, without adult supervision."

The three girls around her all sighed heavily in obvious exasperation at her all too predictable reluctance to just be happy with their wonderful luck.

"I COMPLETELY...AGREE!"

A familiar and sultry voice, with a slight unusual slur to it, rang out loudly from the area near the front porch.

"This house needs a chaperone, a….live-in, um….supervisor to make sure these bimbos…um, girls, yeah! These girls here…..um, BEHAVE THEMSELVES! And um,…I, um….volunteer!"

At that point, the obviously drunk math teacher, Kagome Ririko, wine bottle in hand, grasped for dear life at the porch stair railing as her high heels slipped out from under her. It took all her strength to keep herself from completely falling to the ground below. Once she was upright again she began to stumble over towards them, apparently oblivious to the hateful glares of all other females present.

"I can, um…..see where these horny sluts, um…girls would….um…try to take advantage of poor Aono-kun! But I'll stay here in his….um….room with him and protect him from their dirty, um….intentions, yeah!"

All girls present responded in a unified and resounding voice.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!"

At that moment another familiar figure stumbled out of the house, also clutching her own wine bottle.

"ARE THEY HERE?"

With these slurred words, their homeroom teacher Shizuka Nekonomo screamed sharply as she completely fell off the porch and into the flower bed that surrounded it.

Despite being obviously inebriated she instantly jumped back to her feet and made what she probably thought was a dignified pose.

Tsukune actually heard Bus Driver let out a small sigh at this display from these two senseis before their students' youthful eyes.

"Yeah, there, see?"

After looking back at her drinking companion to answer her previous question, Ririko began lurching again drunkenly towards Tsukune again with a feral if also sloppy looking smile plastered on her face.

"I'll protect my….our Tsukune, um…..Aono-kun from their lusty…ways!"

Nekonome had managed to grab her fellow teacher around the waist and looked to be struggling to keep her from advancing further. The action forced the two to stumble around each other as Ririko tried to get free and Nekonome tried to hold on.

"Yeah, but, um…who'll protect him from, um…..your lusty ways?"

Bus Driver shook his head disapprovingly as he watched both teachers finally fall to the ground and struggle to find their feet again.

"I see you two found something to help shorten the wait for our arrival."

"Well, we…(hiccup)…couldn't leave the (hiccup) booze around for the…um, kiddos (hiccup) to drink."

Bus Driver sent Nekonome an incredulous look as she continued to struggle with diverting Ririko from pouncing on Tsukune.

A split second later Bus Driver began to oddly smile again. Tsukune couldn't help but notice that he was looking towards Moka, who looked as if she were about to strangle the licentious Miss Ririko.

"So Miss Moka, would you rather have a house chaperone stay…."

"LIKE HELL!"

Her violent and vehement response only made Bus Driver grin more.

Without saying anything else to Moka he calmly walked over to where the two teachers were struggling and picked Ririko up like a bag of rice, tossing her effortlessly over his shoulder.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! Why do THEY get to live with Tsukune-kun?"

These were her longingly desperate words as she tried to reach out for Tsukune as Bus Driver stepped passed him and the others, Tsukune's blushing embarrassment over her wanton display still painfully evident.

"Yes, you poor thing. Life most certainly is not fair."

All the girls watched with varying degrees of contempt and satisfaction as Bus Driver lifted Ririko onto the Bus and plopped her down, still struggling to free herself, in a bench.

"Now don't try to get off the Bus or…"

Something back towards their direction caught Bus Driver's attention and caused him to stop, now shaking his head despairingly.

They rapidly turned around only to see, to their mutual shock and horror, that Miss Nekonome was rubbing herself up against the mortified Tsukune, in a feline-like fashion.

"I can see where (hiccup), um…..Kagome-chan….um…(hiccup)…..I mean, Miss…um…(hiccup)….RIRIKO! That's it! Well, I can see why (hiccup) …..she likes you so much! You smell great!"

Where before they held only anger and disgust toward Ririko, now they had been mortifyingly stunned by the similar behavior of their more beloved homeroom teacher.

"MISS NEKONOME! NOT YOU TOO!"

"You've always been a little….um…(hiccup)…..cutie. Haven't you Tsukune-kun? I'm WAYYYYYY too old to play with kittens...um, students, (hiccup) but if I were a few decades younger I….um…(hiccup) …..might have to show you a thing or two! You're growing up (hiccup) into a really….hot man Tsukune-kun, and you smell great too."

As calmly as before Bus Driver walked over and picked Nekonome up like a cat, with all four of her limbs still stretched out before her.

"Well hello there sailor! Bring me any…(hiccup)….um… fish? How about so catnip? Did you get….(hiccup) a little jealous? Meooooo-awow!"

As she said this she playfully batted at his hat brim as he gently carried her in his arms back into the Bus.

"Why don't we put you on the BUS with….."

The sudden change in Nekonome's entire being startled even Bus Driver.

"HELL NO! I CAN SMELL HER! SHE'S ON THAT DAMN BUS! I KNEW SHE WAS HERE! I KNEW IT! WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PROTECT ME FROM THAT DAMN SHE-WOLF! SAVE ME!"

Nekonome had all four limbs propped up on the Bus's door frame and Bus Driver was obviously struggling to get her on board.

"Damn, I forgot…"

He then tried to allay Nekonome's obvious fears with words.

"Calm down Shizuka, she came to pick Gin up but she's gone now. I promise. I wouldn't let her get you, you know that."

Nekonome calmly dropped to her feet and looked up pouting at Bus Driver, clearly not totally believing his previous words.

"You promise (hiccup)…she's gone?"

"I promise Shizuka, now be a good kitty and sit on the Bus while I get the kids settled. I need you to make sure Kagome doesn't get off, Okay?"

They both turned to see Kagome fumbling uselessly with the emergency exit latch.

"…..OK…..but only (hiccup) cause you asked…nice….."

She again playfully batted at his hat brim as she spoke.

"Well, that solves the mystery of who Akaio-san's 'sensei' is."

Mizore followed up on Yukari's statement.

"How could Nekonome-sensei have taught Akaio-san if she's this afraid of her?"

Bus Driver, a little worse for wear, straightened his hat and jacket as he walked back off the Bus.

"Miss Ruby, I assume you can handle the tour on your own?"

"It will be my pleasure!"

Bus Driver nodded his thanks to her.

"Good, these two appear to have got into the 'catnip' and need to be put to bed."

"Aono-kun has a perfectly good bed I can use!"

Ririko's words from the Bus window, as Nekonome attempted to pull her head back in, resulted in another round of blushing for Tsukune, and another round of angry glares from his female companions.

Bus Driver then took his hat off and held it out in front of him.

"Stick your hand in the hat kid, there's something in there for you."

Tsukune was hesitant at first, but his curiosity quickly outweighed his concern.

"Um….OK."

His hand moved around in the hat, which seemed to be deeper on the inside than it looked on the outside, and with obvious surprise, he pulled something out of it.

"…Oh! The key to the house I assume?"

Before him, he held up a gold-colored house key.

"Oh yes, and so much more. Hehe!"

Knowing that Bus Driver only laughed when things were about to get "interesting", Tsukune tensed slightly and sent the key and Bus Driver similarly suspicious looks. The girls mimicked his expression precisely.

"Only two of these keys exist. They belong to the Chairman, and the Vice Chairman."

To indicate this point Bus Driver held out his free hand and an identical golden key dropped into view from his fingertips. With a hand flourish it disappeared as he continued to speak.

"That key opens every door and lock inside the Great Barrier. This house. Every dorm room and teacher's apartments. The Great Barrier Control Room. Even lets you drive the Bus, though I'd prefer you didn't without asking first."

Everyone looked at the gold key now with considerable trepidation.

"Try to throw the key on the ground."

It took Tsukune a moment to understand what Bus Driver was asking him to do, but once he did he attempted to drop the key.

It disappeared the second he spread his fingers apart.

"What the…."

His voice wasn't alone in saying this.

"Where did it go?"

Bus Driver grinned as he spoke.

"Stick your hand in your pocket and take the key out."

Still only half believing, Tsukune did what Bus Driver asked of him and was just as surprised to see the key again in his hand as his companions were.

"Now this time, really give it a good throw."

Tsukune wound up like a baseball pitcher on the mound and heaved the key away from him. When he opened his palm and saw the golden key still sitting there he was just as stunned as everyone else.

"I…I can't!"

Bus Driver nodded with a smile as he explained.

"Even cutting your arms off will not separate you from that key. So long as you are Chairman of Yokai Academy that key will be a part of you. Please show them Miss Ruby."

Ruby stretched out her hand and opened her palm so that her companions could see her silver version of the same key nestled there.

"Where did that key come from?"

"Did you have it in your hand this whole time?"

Ruby shook her head as she responded to Yukari and Kurumu's questions.

"Nope, watch…."

Ruby clutched the key with her fingers and turned her hand upward, then she opened the fingers to show her surprised friends her now empty hand.

"Where did it go?"

"A sleight-of-hand trick?"

Ruby again rather gleefully answered Mizore's and Kokoa's questions.

"Nope, I just didn't need it anymore, so it…..went away."

Bus Driver again held his hat in front of him.

"Stick your hands into the hat ladies and pull out your "reward'."

Kokoa sneered at him as the other girls queued up to stick their hands into his hat and remove their own silver keys.

"This feels like some kind of creepy carnival act."

Bus Driver sent her his most "creepy" expression yet and then whispered to her.

"If you'd rather not live with your much adored Onee-sama….."

Still with a very reluctant look on her face, Kokoa quickly began digging around in the hat.

Bus Driver took that as a chance to lower his voice even further and whisper directly into her ear.

"Or that handsome 'maggot' that seems to have finally caught your eyes."

Kokoa's eyes grew noticeably when she heard him say this and when they could see each other's eyes again all she saw was his devilish amused look. Her look went from being stunned to blushing in embarrassment, to anger in less than a few seconds, which only seemed to amuse the old pervert even more. She didn't even bother to look at the key until she had stalked away safe distance away from him.

"The silver keys grant you access to the house here, afraid that's it though. Same rules of operation apply as to Tsukune's golden key though. You can't get rid of it unless the Chairman takes it away from you. Give it a try Tsukune."

Tsukune turned to his right and suddenly took the silver key out of previously dazed looking Kokoa's fingers.

"HEY! Why'd you take mine for?"

She was visibly angry at him for having used her as the example and he quickly returned it to her in response.

"…sorry."

"Yeah! That's what I thought! Chairman my ass….."

She angrily turned from him clutching the key with both hands now, but for some reason, she began to blush once more.

"Miss Moka, try to take your sister's key from her."

"Um…..OK."

As per Bus Driver's instructions, Moka walked over and Kokoa somewhat reluctantly opened her hand for her sister to take the key.

To the other girls' mild amusement Moka couldn't even feel the key. It was as if it were an optical illusion in her imouto's palm. Then Kokoa tried to hand it over to her sister, only for it to disappear from both their grasps.

Bus Driver continued to smile at them in obvious amusement.

"As you can see, only a gold key owner can take a silver key away from its holder."

Kokoa glared back at him indignantly.

"Yeah, but where did my key go?"

"Pretend the key is in your pocket. Just reach in and take it out."

Kokoa snarled a bit but her expression changed to surprise as she pulled her hand from her pocket and let the key drop into view from her fingers.

"Whoa! How did…."

"Till you guys get used to calling the key and putting it away again, the best way to make it leave and return is to pretend it's a real key and just put it in your pocket. Eventually, you guys will not need to do that, and like Miss Ruby, you'll just make it come and go as you need it."

A noise from the Bus made them all glance behind Bus Driver.

"Hey! Are those keys to…..Aono-kun's room? I'll be needing…..one of …..those…for sure!"

Instead of being annoyed by Ririko's behavior like the girls obviously were, Bus Driver held up a finger with a look of sudden clarity on his face.

"Um…..she just reminded me…."

He then turned to them and began to speak with a most unusually serious expression.

"There are only ten people who know you guys will be living here. That's us, and those two on the Bus."

Kurumu crossed her arms with a sneer on her face looking at the Bus with patent disgust.

"We could have done with just 9 people knowing."

Bus Driver mildly laughed at this remark.

"Well, Miss Nekonome couldn't get everything ready for you guys all by herself. It couldn't be helped."

Beside the now pouting Kurumu, Mizore shrugged nonchalantly.

"Um….too bad."

Bus Driver continued.

"It's not realistic that you guys keep that secret forever from everyone, but that should be on a need to know basis for the time being. Let's try to limit it to Gin, Haiji, and Fong-Fong for now."

"Or we could skip them entirely?"

"Wouldn't hurt my feelings any."

Yukari and Kokoa joined in on Kurumu and Mizore's previously expressed positions about the other boys they associated with.

"Not sure any of THEM, NEED to know."

"Definitely can skip that perv lolicon!"

Tsukune awkwardly decided to try to moderate their tone for the sake of their friends who weren't present to defend themselves..

"Come on guys, try to be a little nice."

Bus Driver seemed to enjoy their "playful" banter about the other boys before he decided to continue.

"Even more important is the need to keep Tsukune's future status at the Academy a strict secret. Even the two on the Bus there have no idea. Only we eight now know, and it MUST remain that way, until the moment Tsukune is officially made Chairman after his graduation."

This time Moka crossed her arms over her chest and sent the other girls a withering look.

"No need to worry. Anyone who would do something that stupid and jeopardize Tsukune will answer to me personally."

This elicited an immediate angry response from Kurumu.

"Like ANY of us would do such a thing in the first place!"

Before a fight could commence, Bus Driver's cackling laughter and maniacal expression sent a chill up all of their spines.

"No Miss Moka…"

He could be truly terrifying at times like this. Even Tsukune was intimidated now.

"….They will answer to ME! Hehehehe!"

Everyone took a step back from the "dark" energy Bus Driver's aura was giving off now.

"…..yeah, I think we're all good on that point!"

Tsukune's words elicited immediate agreement among his female compatriots.

"Yes!"

Bus Driver instantly returned to his usual "just creepy" demeanor and after taking a drag off his cigar spoke to them once more.

"Well then, I think Miss Ruby can take it from here. I'll drop by soon and make sure you're all settled."

Bus Driver then stepped back on the Bus and took his seat. Before closing the Bus door, he called out to the gang once more.

"Oh! One more thing kid. Mikogami-san left you a present in the garage."

Tsukune looked over suspiciously at the three garage doors before turning that same expression back towards Bus Driver.

"Oh!...really?"

Bus Driver nodded thoughtfully back.

"He said it was for 'all the trouble' he put you through this last year an change. A parting gift to show you his appreciation for helping with Fairy Tale and taking over the Academy for him."

Tsukune looked truly surprised to hear this.

"Wow! It was he who helped ME! He sure didn't have to do that!"

 _"With Mikogami-sensei, it could be anything, even something that could kill me, wonder what it is?"_

Bus Driver began to grin at Tsukune's pensive expression.

"Don't worry kid, I don't think Mikogami's last present would be inherently dangerous to you. He had a wicked sense of humor, but I doubt he'd go out that way, at least with you. Hehehe!"

"OH!...yes, of course not!"

 _"Can everyone now read my mind all of a sudden?"_

Suddenly Nekonome grabbed Bus Driver around the neck and playfully flicked his hat off his head, which didn't seem to faze him in the least.

"If you need me for any reason, you know how to get me."

This made Tsukune smile back awkwardly.

"No, not really, you just….show up."

Bus Driver smiled back nodding, then closed the door and the Bus began to back away; all the while Nekonome was still wrapped around his head, and now playing with his hair.

Ririko, looking longingly down at Tsukune from a Bus window, yelled at Bus Driver.

"I need…um…something...Oh yeah! One of those keys to Tsukune-kun's….um….bedroom!"

Nekonome answered for him.

"What you need…RI-RI-KO, is to (hiccup) shut it before the girls…..kick your ass (hiccup) …again."

Everyone waved as the Bus backed out of the driveway and back onto the dusty road, then it headed back into the woods that went toward the Teacher's Village.

Once the Bus was out of sight, they all turned back around to look at the massive house that was to be their new home.

"This place is so…."

"….BIG! It's got to be six, seven times bigger than my parent's place back in our coven."

Kurumu and Yukari were followed in their admiration for the new home by Mizore and Kokoa.

"It's nice too! There's even a lake over there."

"It's no Shuzen Castle…..but, it's certainly nicer than those decrepit old dorms."

Ruby stepped into their line of sight and indicated towards the front door.

"Guys…..shall we?"

Everyone followed Ruby up to the front porch. Once she and Tsukune were before the doorway, she gently bowed toward him and used her hand to indicate he should go in. Tsukune waved his hand at her in objection.

"It's already your home Ruby. After you."

"Oh no! It literally IS your home now Tsukune, after you."

This same scene basically occurred two more times before Kokoa got tired of it and shoved both aside. With a heavy sigh, she rolled her eyes as she moved between them.

"We don't have all day to watch you two flirt with each other."

She didn't bother to wait to see their blushing expressions as she opened the door and stepped into a good sized foyer/genkan. Noticing the shelf of slippers on her right, Kokoa slipped off her shoes and picked the orange colored slippers. The others followed her in and did the same with their shoes.

Ruby seemed surprised to see all the house slippers.

"I guess Bus Driver had Nekonome and Ririko-senseis get these?"

The slippers seemed color-coded as well. Dark Blue pair was the biggest and clearly meant for Tsukune. Yukari had dark purple, which were the smallest. Kurumu light blue, Mizore a lavender shade, Ruby even found a red pair for her.

Moka stared awkwardly at the pink shaded house slippers that were clearly meant for her. Several of the girls noticed her hesitation and her sideways glance to see if Tsukune had noticed the color too.

"WHOA!"

The whole scene was interrupted by Kokoa's loud exclamation from inside the house proper.

Yukari called into the main living area.

"What is it Kokoa?"

"You have to come to look for yourself."

Instead of a usual step-up into the living area like most Japanese homes, this one had another set of glass-paned double doors. Yukari was second through followed by the others, some still putting on their slippers.

"WHOA!"

They all echoed Kokoa's sentiments as their necks craned upwards to look up at the full volume of the living room. The cathedral ceiling was nearly fifteen meters above their heads and held up by sturdy wooden beams forming the vaulted ceiling of the room. A fireplace was set into the middle of the wall on their right, flanked by double sets of huge windows. The furniture was arranged around the fireplace except for two plush and tall-backed chairs near the front to their immediate right, next to one of the front windows, clearly designed as a reading area. To their immediate left was a large opening into an elegant formal dining room. Further along the left wall was an open area they couldn't quite see into from this angle. Straight on from the door and between the left wall and couch was the main passageway that led to double stairs. The one on the left clearly went down. Its counterpart on the right went up to the next floor where a walkway balcony wrapped back around and over the open area on the left. Past the furniture and next to the upwards stairs, another set of glass double doors led into another room.

Ruby, standing near the back of the group, asked them for their opinions with a knowing smile.

"Nice…huh?

"It's amazing!"

Mizore and Yukari added detail to Kurumu's words.

"It's taller than the main lodge ceiling at the ski resort!"

"It's big enough for Kurumu to spread her batty wings and fly around!"

Even Moka, castle-raised, seemed impressed.

"Look at those huge windows! All this light!"

"The furniture looks pretty nice too!"

Kokoa emphasized her point by stretching out on one of the two large sofas. Ruby nodded agreement to Kokoa's assessment.

"The couches are nice, I'll admit to falling asleep on them more than once."

"The fireplace is large enough for a ski lodge as well."

Tsukune also seemed to be looking in the general direction of the fireplace, but unlike Mizore, his moist and glowing eyes were focused up instead of down.

"And that's not even the most amazing thing in the room!"

The girls all looked at Tsukune with worried curiosity as he seemed on the verge of joyous tears.

"It's!...It's so…beautiful!"

"Huh?"

Their confusion was plain to see and once Tsukune realized it he pointed their attention up towards above the fireplace mantle where a large flat screen television resided.

"That has to be at least a 140 cm screen!"

Silence reigned in the room as the girls tried to comprehend Tsukune's adoration of the electronic device against the wall. Finally, Moka released a very disappointed sounding sigh as she shook her head in bewilderment.

"…..really Tsukune?"

One of the ladies present didn't seem to agree with the others' lack of admiration for the television though.

"Does it actually get reception here under all these domes?"

Ruby released her own heavy sigh before responding with little enthusiasm to Kokoa's question.

"…..yes, it has a satellite package, several hundred channels."

Tsukune clutched his hands before him and looked up at the television with pure joy.

"My long nightmare is finally over, I can finally watch the games again…..and LIVE!"

After a few more minutes of staring at Tsukune in disappointment, all but Kokoa moved off to explore their new home further.

"Check out the dining room."

Mizore ran her fingertips over the smoothly polished wooden surface of the dining room table. Ruby responded to Mizore's comment.

"Oh yes! The table and chairs are made of Cherry."

"That looks like some nice dishware as well."

Ruby nodded agreement as Kurumu pointed out the fine china displayed in three corner cases in each corner except for the open opening.

"What's that room on the other side?"

Ruby turned her head to see Yukari pointing across the living room to the glass double doors.

"Oh yes. That's the home office."

The group moved again across the room while Tsukune and Kokoa tried to figure out how to operate the television. Ruby opened the doors and Moka, Yukari, and Mizore stuck their heads in to see a large desk with a chair behind it and two chairs in front. On either side were bookshelves.

"OH!...MY!"

Kurumu on the other hand never made it into the office. They turned back to look at Kurumu, who now seemed to emulate Tsukune and Kokoa's adoring expression from before, only aimed in the opposite direction from the other two.

"What?"

Mizore's question followed the girls out of the office as Kurumu seemed to glide across the floor and into a shiny and professional looking kitchen.

"This is the most amazing home kitchen I've ever seen!"

Kurumu even pirouetted once she was in the middle of the kitchen. It was definitely as modern open style design, opening out onto the living room and staircases.

Once they were in the kitchen with her, the rest began to admire it as well.

"Well, it seems nice."

Yukari's blasé attitude drew an immediate retort from the enamored Kurumu.

"SEEMS NICE?"

Kurumu reached out and grabbed the stunned Yukari firmly by her shoulders.

"Let's take a closer look, shall we?"

She spun Yukari around and led her around the room.

"Well…..since you're forcing me to….."

Once in front of the first appliances, Kurumu began to praise them.

"Everything is stainless steel! The range has six burners and a griddle plate!"

"Is that good?"

Yukari's honest question received an exaggerated answer.

"IS THAT GOOD? REALLY?"

She next towed her hapless audience of one in front of the stacked ovens.

"You see this? Triple ovens! TRIPLE OVENS! We can bake three items at a time with separate cooking temperatures!"

"Yes, I see it, lovely?"

By this point, Moka had seen enough and rescued their youngest member.

"It's all very nice Kurumu. You can stop shoving Yukari across the floor."

Kokoa, who along with Tsukune had temporarily given up on mastering the television, moved past them towards a door beside the ovens.

"What's in here?"

Kurumu was first in after Kokoa.

"A WALK IN PANTRY!"

Kurumu's previous delight with the kitchen now soared to new heights. Kokoa though knew how to throw wet blankets on the best of moments.

"An empty walk-in pantry."

Next to Ruby, Tsukune had opened the rather large refrigerator.

"Not much in the fridge either."

Ruby seemed embarrassed by both of their rather accurate observations as if it somehow reflected badly on her as a "homemaker".

"Well…you see…it was just me here and I ate most of my meals at the school so….well, it's a long story."

Kurumu, who hadn't let the rather unhappy looking Yukari go just yet, finally did so with a gleeful response.

"That's perfectly fine! It gives me the chance to completely stock this kitchen the way I like!"

To the other girls' immediate irritation, especially Moka's, Kurumu leaped across the kitchen and had Tsukune wrapped in a bear hug within a flash.

"Oh, Tsukune-kun! I'm getting so excited thinking of all the great dinners and breakfasts that I'll cook for you! Every night will be another culinary delight for me to make for you! And then I'll get to feed it to you from my own chopsticks and see the pleasure and satisfaction you derive from my superb culinary skills."

Her loving glare upwards at Tsukune intensified as she leaned in to whisper to him.

"And then you'll see just exactly who would make you the best wife in this…."

Instead of his usual embarrassment at these romantic comments, something very warm flowed between them at that moment. Then he blurted out his thoughts.

"Yes! Make the Tahdig again please! I loved it."

She had only made him…well, all of them but especially for him, her family's special recipe one time. Persian Tahdig with some special Korono family ingredients. In fact, remembering how much he, in particular, loved it, she had thought just that very moment to make it for their first dinner in their new love nest.

For him to pull that out of seemingly thin air too, caused her eyes to widen in shock, but before she could say anything another person reacted by pulling Kurumu roughly out of the happily anticipating Tsukune's line of sight.

And into her less thrilled glaring face.

"Who do you think you are coming on to my Tsukune like that?"

For once, Kurumu was briefly glad of Moka's jealousy, and then their old "game" began once more.

"I think I'm the number one candidate to be the future Mrs. Aono, that's who!"

Moka's red eyes flared suddenly bright with rage at Kurumu's brazen arrogance.

"Like hell!"

Tsukune now rather timidly tried to referee between them.

"Please, guys! Not on the first day….."

"Hey look."

Mizore rather nonchalantly indicated towards the sinks.

Rather unsurprisingly the other girls had moved on, as if the brewing battle of wills behind them was a usual part of everyday life because frankly, it was.

"Dual sinks and a built-in dishwasher."

Yukari, finally freed of Kurumu's "forced" kitchen tour, seemed to finally enjoy the kitchen around her.

"It's like one of those big American kitchens you see in magazines or on TV."

"Cause it is! The whole house seems rather Americanized if you ask me."

Kokoa made this observation as she stared rather curiously at the small alcove in the front of the refrigerator.

"Hey what's this thing in the front of the refrigerator?"

Finally seeing where Kokoa was about to put her finger, Ruby reacted quickly and pulled her hand away by the wrist.

"Be careful, that's an ice and water dispenser."

At first, Kokoa seemed mad that Ruby would violate her person in this way, but as the words she heard registered in her mind, she looked back on the door dispenser with a mixture of anger, disgust, and fear.

"WHO WOULD PUT SUCH A DANGEROUS THING ON THE FRONT OF A REFRIGERATOR?"

Her indignation drew snickers from Yukari and Mizore. All of them continued to ignore Tsukune's plight between the shouts of Moka and Kurumu.

"Bet you Kokoa and Moka won't get near sinks much either."

"Not unless they feel like getting a little shock, hehe!"

"Bet Ruby gets jealous when that happens."

"Hehehehe, I bet!"

Ruby blushed profusely but found no words to add to her own defense as the other two continued to snicker. Kokoa, still looking outraged, had managed to position herself behind Ruby as she continued to leer wearily at the water dispenser.

Behind them, the battle of wills raged on.

"And who said you could do all the cooking? You don't own this kitchen! Tsukune happens to also love my cooking!"

Kurumu, covering her mouth with her hand to laugh at Moka's last statement, made another warning red flash of danger occur within her opponent's eyes as Moka grit her teeth in barely contained rage.

Tsukune began to wonder if he could just back up and leave before finding himself in the middle of a bloody brawl.

Then Kurumu delivered a knock-out punch that even she hadn't meant to give.

"Tsukune doesn't love YOUR cooking! It was Outer Mo….."

She hadn't bit off her words for Moka's sake, though later she would regret using it on her too. The blow she was worried about delivering wasn't to the silver-haired vampire across from her, but to the love of her life standing beside them.

Moka seemed to understand immediately as well as she too looked not back at Kurumu in anger, but on Tsukune with concern. Whatever was being discussed near the refrigerator also came to a screeching halt as all eyes now bore into the only male present.

Kurumu felt as if she had just cut off her own arm to win a battle. She couldn't even bring herself to look towards the man she loved, she was so afraid to witness his pain again in his eyes. Finally, a soft whimper-like sound eminated from her mouth.

"I….I didn't….."

"Moka's right."

Tsukune's happy sounding response seemed even more shocking to his listeners than Kurumu's initial mention of the person they had lost the previous night. The mere sudden mention of "her" had made them all fear for his happiness and sanity. Now his warm reply at a moment they expected his tears made them fear for him even more.

"I have always loved her cooking, especially her pumpkin pie."

Then Tsukune reached out gently and pulled them both into an embrace with him on either side.

"I also happen to think Kurumu is an awesome cook as well. In fact, I love everyone's food so far, but Ruby has yet to make us anything so perhaps she'll make us something soon too."

His glowing smile back over his shoulder to her made the worried looking Ruby blush and awkwardly smile back.

"I'd love to….um, soon."

"Sounds great to me. Perhaps we can all take turns cooking?"

Even before his words had reached her ears, Kurumu knew that Tsukune was okay. Now she smiled back at him rather devilishly as she patted him on his chest in a dismissive manner.

"Oh, Tsukune! Perhaps when it's time to grill some meat outside, but a man's place is NOT in my kitchen. You're so silly Tsukune-kun! You ever get hungry you just let your Kuru-chan know."

She moved lightly out of his arms with a warm smile. Still, in his embrace, Moka glared again at her, not understanding how Kurumu got away with her faux pas without even a whimper from Tsukune.

Even Kurumu couldn't believe how well Tsukune had reacted to the mention of "her". She had her suspicions why, but for now, she was just relieved to not have unintentionally hurt Tsukune with her words.

Kurumu, now with her hand gliding possessively over the range top, sent Moka a smirk when she turned around to look at her.

 _"I'll decide which of these floozies are worthy to be in MY kitchen."_

Tsukune twisted up a wry smile for her as he somewhat jokingly shook his head in rebuke of her latest escalation of the "war" with Moka.

"That's not very nice Kurumu."

Moka and Kurumu now looked at him again in surprise. Kurumu even began to blush and hurriedly turned away from them. Finally, after looking at him in confusion for a few seconds, Moka asked him his meaning.

"What? Her offering to cook for you?"

Suddenly Tsukune's mood did a complete reversal and the previously happily look melted into one of confusion. He rubbed his head in frustration as if some thought of great importance had just been there but had suddenly retreated from him at the moment of conception. Moka, concerned again, reached up to stroke his hair.

Yukari and Ruby had moved up to bracket Tsukune from behind on either side. Even Kokoa looked on in mild concern now. For some reason, Mizore's eyes were drawn toward Kurumu though, who seemed like she wished she could be anywhere else right now but here.

They may be rivals for Tsukune's love, but Kurumu was Mizore's friend. She didn't know what was going on between her and Tsukune, but she had some inkling that Kurumu needed to be rescued from this moment.

"Looks like he doesn't think much of your cooking after all."

Her rather out of place joke seemed awkward at first, but when everyone including Tsukune began to smile, the horrible mood that had descended on them broke.

Tsukune smiled back at her warmly.

"That's not what I meant! I just thought I heard….."

His eyes drifted toward Kurumu again for a moment, but Yukari's voice drew that questioning look mercifully away from Kurumu.

"What did you hear Tsukune-kun?"

"….well, it was…..nothing. I must still be tired from last night."

Kurumu finally took her chance to get back into the group before her awkwardness was noticed even more. She rushed up and returned to her previous position in Tsukune's warm embrace.

"It's Okay Tsukune-kun; I KNOW you love MY cooking."

Behind her smile, she hoped she was keeping her true thoughts to herself.

 _"This is so hard, I have to work harder."_

Mizore briefly sent her friend a suspicious look again before moving up with a smile behind Yukari. Ruby briefly gave Kurumu a sympathetic smile before turning back to glow warmly at Tsukune. Even Moka seemed relieved and almost happy.

Kokoa, who was noticeably not part of this strange "organism" these six had formed in the middle of the kitchen, looked on it from behind with a mix of emotions showing on her expressive face. Not all of those looks seemed to be her usual disgust.

She finally moved off in another direction when something else caught her eye.

"Hey, what's back here?"

The others turned and followed Kokoa down the hallway between the kitchen table and the railing for the downward stairway. Ruby pointed to the first door on the left.

"The door behind us is the first-floor water closet."

Moka had a less than favorable expression when she heard this.

"A little close to the kitchen table, isn't it?"

Ruby tactfully ignore Moka's discomfort at the closeness of the lavatory to their dining area and pointed down to the far end of the hallway directly opposite the restroom door.

"At the end of this hallway is the door to the garage."

"We should go there next."

Tsukune even began to move that way as he clearly was interested in Mikogami's gift to him but Ruby secured his further progress by grabbing him gently by his upper left arm.

"Um…..lets save that for last, shall we? Next to the garage is the coat closet."

"What are these little doors?"

Between the coat closet and another door directly behind the upward staircase were two tiny doors set a little above waist height.

Ruby recognized what Yukari was interested in immediately.

"The one of the left is the laundry shoot. It goes all the way down to the Laundry room in the basement."

"There's a Laundry Room?"

Mizore asked this as she pushed back the top hinged panel of the shoot to look down its shaft.

"The other door is the dumb-waiter; it also goes to all three floors."

Kurumu sent that door a befuddled and mistrusting look.

"The what?"

Kokoa sneered at Kurumu's ignorance as she taunted her.

"You don't know what a dumb-waiter is? How ironically dumb. You can put a tray of food and drinks, or anything that will fit really, in it and then press the button to the floor you want it on. All the servants at Shuzen Castle loved them."

Kurumu sent her back an irritated look before focusing on the door flap to the dumb-waiter once more.

"So basically it's a food elevator, but you had to be a snobby little show-off and couldn't just say that?"

Moka was already sending her imouto a disappointed look before she began to scold her.

"No one likes a show-off or a snob Kokoa. Make that the last time I hear you talk that way."

Kokoa, with a heavy sigh, effected a contrite look for her sister.

"…..yes Onee-sama, sorry."

"I'm afraid this dumb-waiter is operated by good old hand power. You have to use the pulley ropes on the side to move the service box up and down. Still, it's a significant upgrade over carrying a tray between floors."

As Moka turned to listen to Ruby, Kokoa's contrite expression returned to a sneer as she pulled her right eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at Kurumu.

Yukari's attention had been refocused on a doorway recessed on the left side of the garage hallway that Ruby had seemingly forgotten about, or more likely had skipped on purpose.

"So what's behind this door?"

Yukari didn't wait for Ruby's answer before trying the doorknob and pushing her way inside.

"Well…um…that's the, HEY!, wait a second…..I've never been in….."

No one seemed bothered by Ruby suddenly becoming flustered and followed Yukari in, much to Ruby's temporary irritation.

When Ruby finally joined them in the large room she even joined them in surprise.

"I CALL IT! THIS IS MY ROOM!"

Almost every feminine voice called out at once, which resulted in an immediate argument among those voices.

Ruby didn't let it go on for too long.

"STOP!"

Once everyone got over the initial shock of the usually demure Ruby screaming at them, they refocused their attention onto her.

"You see I've never been in here before because this is the…well, the Chairman's private rooms."

Everyone began to take in the room again after Ruby spoke. The entrance door was on the right side of the room and directly opposite it was a window. Along the wall to their right near the middle was another doorway. Beside them on the left and on a wall that was recessed back about a meter from where the door opened was a massive bed. On the other side of that bed was the room's other window. Between that wall and the one with the other widow set a recessed fireplace. There was enough room in this area between the foot of the bed and the fireplace for a sitting area with two large chairs and a small table between them. The walls were painted in a rather manly shade of steel-blue.

It was an incredibly impressive master bedroom and larger than most home's living rooms, but everyone's attention was focused on the art piece on the wall at the head of the bed.

"How in the….."

Seven equal sized panels, about a meter long vertically and a third as wide, were lined up against that wall. Images from the outside right included Kokoa, Mizore, and Ruby. From the left moving inwards were images of Yukari, Kurumu, and Inner Moka.

The panels shifted from what one could call beauty shots of the girls to images of them in their full Yokai fighting forms as one moved about in the room. The one of Inner Moka changed into Outer Moka and back again.

Yet the center panel, featuring Tsukune himself, was the one that was truly fascinating for them all. It shifted from his smiling image to one of him in full shinso battle armor and back again.

The mystery for them all was how Mikogami-sensei had captured that image of Tsukune, which wouldn't have been possible before the previous evening.

"Obviously, these panels are enchanted."

True to Ruby's words they did seem to have a "living" quality to them that was very unsettling. A few more moments of silent and mesmerized staring ended when Ruby spoke up again.

"So, as the Chairman's private rooms, well…this room is, it already belongs to…the Chairman."

Everyone seemed slightly confused at first but then their wide eyes began to fall on the only male in the room.

"OH! You mean?"

Before Tsukune could finish his stunned words three flashes moved past him and jumped on the bed.

"I'LL BUNK WITH TSUKUNE!"

A split second later he saw Yukari, Kurumu, and Mizore fighting over the pillows on what apparently was his new bed.

"No WAY you flithy slags! I'll make sure MY Tsukune-kun is sleeping well EVERY NIGHT! ALONE with ME!"

Mizore coldly yanked the pillow from Kurumu's hands.

"Like hell! I'll keep him cool on these hot summer night! No need for unwanted interruptions."

This only made Yukari laugh at them while molesting her own pillow.

"Sorry girls! No bimbos allowed when Moka, Tsukune and me go to bed!"

Behind Tsukune's mortified expression one could see Ruby blushing, Kokoa looking on in disgust, and the sound of teeth grinding accompanied by flame red eyes.

Then that dangerous sound fell away to everyone's surprise as a seemingly calm Moka walked past Tsukune and rather gently pried the pillow from a disappointed Yukari's grasp.

"Please, none of you will be bunking with Tsukune. Keep dreaming though, cause that's all you'll ever have."

Yukari, ever the agitator, couldn't help herself. With a sneer, she delivered a retort.

"So YOU plan to bunk with him instead? Hehe!"

This made Moka join Tsukune in embarrassment.

"I…um….I, I didn't say THAT! None of us will be sharing a bed with Tsukune. That's would be just….ah…..indecent."

 _"Oh…..um…..well that, kind of sucks."_

Tsukune had only just thought this, but for some reason, he felt a great sense of disappointment in himself for it. Feeling oddly compelled to look at Kurumu for some reason, he saw a momentary look that matched his own disappointed feelings, before she began to sneer again at Moka hovering over them from the side of the bed.

"THAT'S RIGHT! And Onee-sama is bunking with ME! So you can get that idea out of your nasty head too, YU-KA-RI!"

As if to emphasize her point she wrapped herself around her older sister's left arm and stuck her tongue out at Yukari, who returned the expression in kind.

"LET'S CALM DOWN! OK?"

For all her usual gracefulness, even Ruby seemed to be at her wits end with the constant bickering today. Since she had had arguably a rough night before, at least physically if not also mentally, it was very understandable for her to have a shorter fuse than normal.

"This is the Chairman's room so it's where Tsukune, the Chairman, will sleep."

"Well, that's an awfully large bed just for me. If the beds upstairs are smaller I don't mind if we switch."

Tsukune's attempt to be gracious and generous was met with instant refusal by the senior witch present.

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU are the Chairman of Yokai Academy…"

"Well…..technically I'm still just a student…"

"That doesn't matter in the least!"

Ruby had approached Tsukune and was staring slightly up into his eyes. The look of admiration she gave him contained a lot more emotions than just that and the other girls noticed that and Tsukune's own blushing response to her with renewed irritation.

"You ARE the Chairman of Yokai Academy and this is YOUR home and THIS ROOM IS the master suite in your home. There shall be no compromising the dignity of the office of the Chairman! Period! End of story!"

In the face of this level of resolve in her, Tsukune could offer no further resistance.

"Um…well…..ok then."

Ruby smiled brightly up at him and ran her hands down his arms from his shoulders before realizing she was creating another incident that might flare-up the other ladies again, this time against her. She hurriedly put distance between them as she moved to the door in the wall behind her.

"So let's go see what your bathroom looks like, shall we?"

Tsukune seemed to recognize the danger as well. A voice in his head told him now he was pissing the other girls off with showing Ruby too much attention.

"Um, sounds good."

As Tsukune followed Ruby at a safe distance into the bathroom, Moka angrily shook off her sister's grasp of her left arm and pointed for the other girls to follow them with a look that offered no chance of debate.

In a low tone, so no one already in the bathroom could hear, she made her point plain to them in a growl.

"And you three can get off Tsukune's bed, NOW."

True to form Yukari got off first with a mild look of sadness. Mizore followed her with her usually placid expression as if none of this bothered her in the least, and of course, Kurumu waited to go last with a look of surprising satisfaction on her face. She gently placed the pillow she had been clutching to her bosom back down where she found it and very slowly, yet gracefully slid to the edge of the bed and stood up again as close to the still defiantly pointing Moka as she could.

Now with their faces less than a few centimeters apart Kurumu turned that condescending smile towards an obviously angry Moka and spoke in a calm and sultry tone to her.

"That's OK, he hasn't got in it yet anyway. I'll wait till he's in it to REALLY enjoy it."

Kokoa, still hovering by her Onee-sama's side, eyes widened and she purposefully moved away from them to avoid the coming battle, but Yukari's stunned voice from inside the bathroom gave Kurumu the opportunity to defiantly turn away and move towards the bathroom with a victorious sneer still plastered on her face.

"OH MY GOODNESS! LOOK AT THE PEOPLE CAR WASH!"

Moka's enraged red eyes followed Kurumu's back as she moved away. Had her eyes been lasers the only parts left of Kurumu now would be the stumps of her shins supported by her feet.

Sensing instinctually the boiling point was near, Kokoa hurriedly moved to the relative safety of the bathroom, to be followed moments later by the stalking plodding of a very angry shinso vampire.

"That thing has three individual shower heads, and each space has two lower water jets too."

Mizore sounded truly impressed. Looking to quickly change the topic as she sensed her enraged sister's approach from behind and realized she was now between her and the target of that rage, Kokoa eagerly joined in the admiration of the massive glassed-in shower.

"Every one of us could take a shower in here at the same time!"

Apparently, Kurumu was now in the mood to agitate all the female vampires present. She looked back over her shoulder and intoned in a low smirk.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, you pervert?"

Kokoa instantly joined her sister in rage at the succubus, but before she could retaliate or defend herself Ruby moved the conversation onward.

"Oh nice, it's like the one downstairs."

Yukari wasn't the only one surprised to hear this house had two such massive washing facilities.

"There's another one of these downstairs?"

Ruby nodded back.

"Well, just the three place shower."

Moka seemed to now be at the point where she wanted to move on from her anger. She looked down at the large oval bathtub between the three place shower and what was obviously the water closet back near the bathroom entrance.

"A two-person bathtub? What was the Chairman planning on doing with all these multiple person water features in his private quarters?"

Yukari, of course, being Yukari, was the first to latch onto any perverted type of "fun" to be had.

"Hehehe! He seems kinkier than we thought, huh?"

"Actually…"

Ruby was blushing as if Moka had just accused her of being a pervert instead of Mikogami-sensei. She awkwardly pointed to the vanity opposite the tube.

"….perhaps he just anticipated that either he or his successor might get married. There are, after all, two sinks here as well."

"But THREE shower heads, hehehe!"

Yukari couldn't help herself. Anything considered even slightly kinky was great fun for the pre-pubescent twelve-year-old.

"Married, to the Chairman….."

When Mizore said this she was looking with considerable desire directly at a soon to be blushing once more Tsukune.

"To be Mrs. Aono Tsukune….."

Yukari instantly joined Mizore in her daydream and was now looking longingly up at Tsukune as was Kururmu and even Ruby.

Tsukune must have felt the "heat" of those "warm" gazes as he pulled at his T-shirt collar with beads of sweat forming around his brow.

Or maybe it was those glowing hot coals for eyes from behind him sending the other four girls her own "heat" in return.

"Yup! Ruby's right, there are two walk-in closets in here too. Couple style."

Kokoa's words from inside the open area opposite the water closet door made Tsukune sigh in obvious relief. He quickly moved to enter the closet area and to be out of the middle of that brewing storm that had been forming around him. Once the other girls had joined them Kokoa spoke again.

"Of course, since he's a guy, Tsukune won't need this entire space for his junk. We can store some of our stuff down here too."

Moka shot her imouto an immediate rebuke.

"Quit being presumptuous Kokoa. These are Tsukune's rooms, to do with as HE chooses."

"Quite right, they are indeed."

Tsukune, being a gentleman, tried to refute Ruby's insistence on his dominion over all things in the house once more.

"Well, you know….."

Tsukune's eyes drifted over the first walk-in closet and to the second one that Yukari and Kokoa had already walked into.

"…..Kokoa's right, I could never fill both these closets with my stuff. I don't mind sharing the space with you guys."

Only once his statement was out, did he finally noticed that Ruby and Moka were both sending him equal looks that indicated he should stop talking before he got into trouble, with THEM.

"Well we can't have everybody just walking in on you and using the excuse that they need to get their things from your closet, now can we?"

More than one girl sent Moka a dirty look when she mentioned this, thus ruining a great excuse for them to peep on him.

Ruby though, instantly supported Moka's statement.

"And it might not even be necessary…."

She moved her hand around to indicate the closet around them.

"All three of the upstairs bedrooms have the same style closet like the ones here, and they are just as big. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is well more than twice the storage space you guys have in the typical rooms back at the dorms?"

Mizore nodded confirmation.

"Well, that's true enough."

Ruby smiled warmly back to her.

"I don't even take up nearly half of the closet space in my own room either, so there shouldn't be a problem fitting all of our stuff in closets upstairs."

Yukari didn't seem so convinced by Ruby's assessment.

"Yeah, but Kurumu's closet back at the dorm is overflowing as is and even more stuff is just lying around her room."

This, of course, drew an instant defense from Kurumu.

"Well, I have to have the right clothes for any occasion."

Ruby was now in no mood to tolerate more bickering on her tour and immediately moved on before those two could stir anything up.

"Well, that's the first floor, lets head upstairs."

It was rather abrupt but everyone piled out of the closets and the bathroom back into the master bedroom on their way back into the common areas.

Kurumu, however, made a pit stop again next to Tsukune's bed, which of course naturally drew Moka's irritated attention once more.

Witnessing Kurumu again pick up a pillow and warmly cuddle in as if it were Tsukune himself. Moka blurted out an angry question.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Beside her, Yukari giggled with laughter.

"Just being her normal, weird self."

Kurumu looked back over her shoulder with a smirk, which flared up Moka's anger another notch. Tsukune, for his part, again was very embarrassed. He seemed to have a good sense of exactly what Kurumu was doing.

"If you must know. I'm making sure Tsukune-kun's pillow smells like me so that he can snuggle with it and dream sweet dreams of me tonight."

Realizing she had, what to them, was an obviously great idea; Mizore and Yukari pounced again towards the bed.

"Hey that's a good idea…."

Before Mizore could finish her statement Moka had her and Yukari firmly by the collars.

"No! You two out!"

Nearly throwing them from the room, Yukari let out a mild protest as Mizore and she were shoved into the garage hallway.

"AWE! Not fair!"

Once those two were safely out, she again directed her full anger on Kurumu, and wordlessly pointed for her to leave the room.

Tsukune decided this was a great time for him to also make his exit as well and asked Ruby, who was now in the kitchen, if he could go see the garage now.

"So now can we go into the garage?"

"Upstairs and downstairs first, we'll get there soon enough. I promise."

Before giving in to her angry opponent, Kurumu gently kissed the top of the pillow, leaving a lipstick imprint, and then delicately laid it on the top of the others. She couldn't have done the same to Tsukune himself with any more love than she had just shown.

Instead of her previous gloating smirk, this time Kurumu looked truly happy as she passed Moka.

She looked like a woman in love.

This only made Moka's furry at her bubble up even greater than before.

Kurumu did stop just long enough to send Moka what could almost be considered a sympathetic look. Her words, however, were more like her usual taunting.

"You're just mad YOU didn't think of it, first."

Moka again glared with barely contained rage at the back of Kurumu's head as she left the room.

Then those burning red eyes focused on the well-molested pillows Kurumu and the other two had left on Tsukune's bed.

 _"Who does she think she is? Rubbing up on my Tsukune's stuff like that."_

Moka stomped over towards the bed and flung all the other female scented pillows off over the other side.

She then smiled rather satisfied with herself and began to move towards the door when she stopped herself mid-turn. Her eyes softened considerably when they found a pillow that had not been moved from its original position on his bed.

She didn't even hesitate and grabbed it up, rubbing it a bit too forcefully on her face, neck and finally between her only slightly exposed cleavage.

She then held it out to look at it with a big smile and then sniffed it as if it smelled like Tsukune instead of her.

By tomorrow it would smell more like him though.

 _"He does smell wonderful, my Tsukune."_

Then she followed Kurumu's example one more time and left a nice pink lipstick impression near the closed-in part of the pillowcase.

 _"It's my job to make sure MY Tsukune-kun sleeps well, not yours or any of the others you hussy."_

She then laid it down with the same loving look that Kurumu had just used moments before.

Standing in the doorway to the bathroom, in utter shock and disappointment, was the one person Moka forgot to chase out of the room.

 _"OH! ONEE-SAMA! WHY?"_

This plea of bewilderment thundered through Kokoa's mind the moment she witness the….shameful display….her beloved idol-sister was putting on.

Moka then lovingly stroked the pillow as if it were Tsukune's chest with her fingertips.

 _"Too bad we can't spend our first night in the same house in the same bed too. All in good time though, my love."_

Kokoa could barely contain her shame now. She felt tears well in the corners of her eyes.

 _"Who is this and what has she done with my kick-ass Onee-sama?"_

From the kitchen, Ruby's voice rang back to them.

"You guys coming?"

Moka instantly realized the words were meant for her…..and someone else.

 _"You GUYS?"_

Fear of exposure seized her previously happy heart as she turned in dread to see her little sister looking at her with a mortified expression.

Neither of them wanted to be in this horrid moment together.

Neither seemed to find the strength to end it as they glared helplessly at one another in mutual mortification.

Moka's mind finally made the first move. If no one responded the rest would come back in looking for them and make this horrible moment a thousand times worse than it already was.

"…we're coming!"

Moka broke eye contact with her sister when she called out to the others and took this opportunity not to reestablish it. She stood up straight and brushed at the hem of her skirt as if removing dust from it.

Next, pointedly avoiding eye contact with her sister, who herself was now looking at the floor with a pitiful expression on her face, Moka clasped her wrists behind her back and moved toward the doorway with all the false dignity she could muster.

She abruptly stopped at the closest point to Kokoa, and without making any awkward eye contact spoke in a low but commanding voice to her imouto.

"Needless to say, you witnessed nothing just then, correct?"

"Nothing at all, Onee-sama."

Kokoa still looked like a little child receiving punishment from her elder.

"Good, and we will never mention this again, right?"

Kokoa nodded pitifully as if all her assumptions in life had been simultaneously shattered by just one earth-shaking revelation.

"Good, let's go."

Kokoa dutifully followed in her precious Onee-sama's footsteps, but still refused to look up.

 _"As if I'd ever want to relive….that?"_

Even her much admired and beloved shinso vampire Onee-sama had one glaring weakness.

She was a woman in love.

Kokoa vowed to never make the same mistake, but couldn't shake the feeling she may already have.


	7. Short Day V

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Last part of the Chairman's House tour, after this we'll get right back to the main drama.

* * *

By the time Moka and Kokoa were back in the Kitchen again, Tsukune was already following Ruby up the stairs.

The other three, waiting to follow Tsukune up looked at the siblings with odd expressions, but because of Kokoa's apparent chastened attitude, they all seemed to come to the conclusion Moka had been properly berating her sister for her rudeness earlier.

That false assumption suited both daughters of Shuzen Issa just fine.

As she followed Tsukune up the stairs Yukuri asked Ruby a question while glancing down the other stairway to the lower floor.

"So what's downstairs other than a laundry room and another people car wash?"

"Don't worry, we'll go down there right after the upstairs tour."

At the top of the stairs to the left was another hallway that led to a door to a room presumably over the three-bay garage. To their left an "L" shaped balcony walkway covered part of the kitchen below and terminated in a doorway near the front of the house over what was the dining room below it.

"Here you can see the upstairs laundry shoot and dumb-waiter on the right. Above us is the pull-down for the attic, which is actually quite spacious. There are three bedrooms with full closets like downstairs, two full bathrooms, and two water closets. These two doors on the right here lead to the first bathroom and water closet respectively.

Walking down the hallway towards the room over the garage, the girl's looked into the first upstairs bathroom and water closet, which were also connected together by another door between them.

"This is the smaller of the two bathrooms."

Yukari seemed surprised by Ruby's words.

"The other one is BIGGER?"

"Well, it is smaller than Tsukune's bathroom, but still quite large."

Kurumu followed Mizore's comment.

"Not smaller by much though! It has two sinks and another two-person bathtub as well."

Against the wall with the door to the hallway was another two-person vanity, opposite them were a single glassed-in shower stall and a two-person tub the same size as the one in Tsukune's bathroom downstairs.

"There's a sink in the water closet too."

Kokoa had said this after walking out of the water closet. Yukari's follow up sounded somewhat disappointed though.

"Just the one shower stall though."

Moka, rather bravely for a vampire, had entered the shower stall and was looking at a sliding panel in the side of the shower wall similar to the one she had seen in the first stall down in Tsukune's "people car was" as Yukari called it.

"Looks like there's a water cutoff valve in this compartment, but it has a strange adapter. Any idea what this is for Ruby?"

Ruby suddenly seemed very excited.

"I can't believe I forgot that! Actually yes! It's also funny you of all people noticed it because it's specifically for vampires!"

Kokoa, now in the shower with her Onee-sama, sent Ruby a suspicious glare.

"Really? I've never seen anything like that before. What is it?"

Ruby abruptly turned around and began rooting around in the cabinet below the vanity for something.

"I think there's one down here….yes! Got it!"

Ruby turned to face them again with a can a bit larger than a soup can proudly displayed in her palm.

Kokoa squinted at it as she read the words printed on it, then she seemed rather surprised by what she had read.

"Oh! It's vampire bath herbs! I've never seen them in a canister like this before."

Moka was looking curiously at the canister over Kokoa's shoulder also with a skeptical, if less harsh, expression.

"It says it lasts for thirty minutes of normal shower time. OH! I see now, the canister's lid is the same format as the adapter in that compartment."

Ruby moved past the two sisters into the shower, which held all three of them comfortably, and opened the compartment flap.

"You take the lid off the canister, screw the canister onto the adapter and flip this lever here and the water for the shower runs through the herb canister giving vampires thirty minutes of electro-shock free showering."

Moka and Kokoa exchanged more disbelieving looks before looking again at the canister now nestled in the tiny alcove with surprising timidness, for them.

"We've never taken a shower before. We always take baths since you can just pour the herbs into the bath water. We just use wipes to clean ourselves before entering a bath."

Kokoa agreed with her Onee-sama.

"Yeah, it might be…weird."

"Showers are great if you're in a hurry!"

Yukari's enthusiasm for showers made both lady vampires seem to doubt their somewhat negative positions.

"Plus you can take them in the morning before school since they can be a lot quicker than baths."

Kurumu backed up Mizore and Yukari.

"It helps wake you up too if you're particularly groggy in the mornings."

After another sidelong look at it, Moka flipped the lever back to the normal flow position, screwed the lid back on the canister and handed it back to Ruby.

"Well, I might have to try it out later and see if I like it."

Ruby beamed back at her before putting the canister back in the cabinet.

"Something new to try anyway. The other shower has one too, plus the first stall in the basement showers."

"I don't think I saw one in Tsukune's shower?"

Kokoa's words seemed to make Mizore and Kurumu pull into her sides with rather ominous expressions on their faces.

In a very low whisper, Kurumu spoke to her first with considerable menace.

"Why do YOU care if there's one in Tsukune's shower, anyway?"

Kokoa seemed downright offended to be asked such a thing.

"I DON'T CARE! I was just…..curious, that's ALL!"

It was now apparently Mizore's turn to whisper darkly into Kokoa's ear.

"Yeah? That better be ALL. After all, they say curiosity killed the cat."

Kokoa glared at both indignantly.

"I don't know what you two are trying to insinuate here, but…"

She never got to finish her protest.

"So what's in here Ruby? This room is over the garage, right?"

"OH! Tsukune! Wait for a second and I'll…"

Tsukune had already opened the door to the room over the garage. The look on his face was similar to the one he had looking at the large television in the living room, only a hundred percent more intense.

In response, all Ruby could do was sigh resignedly and shrug.

"Yeah, …so…..this is obviously the game room."

"WOW!"

This time everyone seemed just as impressed as Tsukune was.

A pool table sat in the middle of the first half of the massive space and in the far half a small sitting area with couches and love seats sat under an even bigger television than the one downstairs, almost in a home theater style. Along each wall, with only the windows to break them up, where numerous video game machines and pinball machines. There were a dart board and an air hockey table and numerous other games too.

This time Ruby's next sigh was more wistfulness than the previous one.

"Yeah, that was the reaction I had the first time I saw it as well."

Every eye but Ruby's were now wide as saucers, taking in all there was to see and do in this astounding room.

"This is AMAZING!"

Yukari and Kokoa were both jumping up and down in joy clasping each others' hands.

"WOW! This can be our room Onee-sama!"

Kurumu rather effortlessly shot down that idea before it could fester and grow.

"I don't think so! This is for all of us to enjoy."

Only then had they realized that Tsukune was once again drooling in front of another, even bigger, television.

Moka, somewhat reluctantly, asked him how he was.

"Tsukune, are you OK?"

Kurumu provided her own answer to Tsukune's apparent upright comatose state.

"I think all the great stuff in here has caused him to short circuit."

"Should I put my hand on his neck as a cold compress?"

Before Mizore could reach him he began to babble incoherently.

"Wait! I think he's trying to speak."

Yukari and the others looked on in worried anticipation.

"…Ta…..Be…"

Ruby spoke up with obvious concern.

"What's he saying?"

Moka called out to him in a soothing tone.

"We can't understand you Tsukune."

"…..Tee….Bay!"

Mizore, now standing next to him gently rubbed his shoulders.

"What Tsukune? Speak to us."

Kokoa suddenly began to laugh as she derisively shook her head at them all.

"You idiots! Look at what he's staring at!"

Tsukune was standing there drooling and looking at a massive blank television screen.

"I…love…..the…..T….V…"

"…..OH!"

The girls cried out in united sudden clarity.

"…oh."

The girls mumbled in united disappointment in the man they loved.

Ruby, rather lackluster, indicated the large electronic device mounted to the far wall that Tsukune seemed to regard as a deity.

"Yes, well…it's the largest in the house. I think its 178 cm wide."

Tsukune's barely coherent mumbling continued.

"One HUNDRED…and…seventy-EIGHT centimeters…WIDE! It's so…beautiful…."

Yukari stood next to him and shook her head upwards at him with a disappointed expression on her face.

"The moments I question why I'm so in love with our Tsukune-kun are rare, but this is certainly one of those times."

Mizore seemed ready to move on and allow Tsukune to recover on his own.

"Hey Ruby, where does that door lead?"

The door was to the left of the television and the glass window in it clearly lead outside.

"Oh yes, there's an outdoor staircase there that goes down to the front of the garage."

"Oh yeah! I remember seeing that staircase when we were on the Bus."

Ruby nodded to let Yukari know she was right.

Then she turned and faced everyone while clasping her hands in front of her.

"If you guys are ready, we'll look at the bedrooms now."

Tsukune seemed dejected that they weren't at least going to try the massive television out first.

"But…there might be a game on. We should try the TV out."

Moka sent him a lip curled reply.

"It works Tsukune, come along."

"But…."

Mizore gently pushed his shoulders with a smile.

"Come on, let's go look at the bedrooms."

Ruby took the gang back into the hallway and stopped at the first door on the right, which sat near the top of the stairs.

"As you can image, when Mikogami-sensei allowed me to live here I had a choice of any bedroom on this floor. They all are about the same size and so are the closets, so location and wall color were the only real differences."

She turned and looked back at them before continuing.

"Each room has a different wall color. Because of its color, I call this one the Plum Room."

She opened the room and let everyone enter before following them in.

"And if you can't already tell, this just happens to be my bedroom as well."

It was obviously her room with decorations of flowers and painting of woodland and other natural scenes. On the desk near the far window were pictures of them all together as a unit or in small groups, with one rather prominent portrait of Tsukune alone among the others. Ruby seemed to only then remember that particular picture and moved quickly to stand in front of her desk.

"Oh WOW! I love this color!"

The dark purple hue that covered the walls was indeed reminiscent of the shade of a ripe plum.

Kurumu nodded approvingly as well.

"Not bad at all."

"Can we look in the closet?"

Ruby nodded to Mizore's request.

"Please do."

Kokoa also stuck her head into the closet that formed the small alcove where the room's door was recessed into.

"It is the same size as ONE of Tsukune's TWO closets."

Everyone seemed to ignore Kokoa's sarcastic tone.

The two-person bed looked like a slightly smaller version of the grand bed in Tsukune's master suite and had its headboard next to the wall formed by the closet. Windows occupied the right wall next to the bed and the far wall opposite the bed and above the desk. Yukari was leaning past Ruby and the desk and looking at the view beyond that showed some woods behind the house and parts of the lake shining through the trunks and branches beyond. Moka leaned over her to also look out the window, which made Ruby awkwardly shift to hide Tsukune's portrait even more.

"I can't believe how blue the sky is here and how green the woods are."

Yukari wistfully agreed with Moka.

"You completely forget we're at red dirt, red sky, dead trees having Yokai Academy."

Ruby added some info to their conversation.

"Well, as far as the weather goes, we get the same weather inside the Teacher's Barrier as whatever is going on outside of The Great Barrier. It's only the space between the two barriers that has the typical Yokai Academy weather and foliage."

Everyone seemed pleased by this news except for the two female vampires.

"Even snow?"

Ruby nodded to the unusually exuberant Mizore.

"Had snow three times last winter."

Yukari seemed happy to hear that as well.

"Well, good! I get tired of the whole constant 28⁰C weather."

Ruby patted her younger fellow witch on the shoulder.

"Yes, we witches don't much care for being artificially disconnected from nature."

Mizore seemed almost giddy.

"I'm just glad it snows some here."

For some reason, this made her glance lovingly at Tsukune, who naturally blushed in the light of her adoration.

Moka, on the other hand, looked very concerned when she spoke.

"Ruby, if it snows here, I assume it also rains here?"

Ruby answered her brightly.

"In the spring and summer, it seems to rain almost every afternoon…OH!"

The sudden change in Ruby's tone from happy to concerned naturally drew the attention of the rest of the group.

"What?...OH! WATER."

"OH! WATER! The stuff that electrocutes vampires! YEAH! That stuff!"

Again Kokoa's sarcasm was easily ignored as if that was just the way she spoke to them all the time.

Tsukune had a question for the two lady vampires instead.

"Well, what did you guys do if it rained at Shuzen Castle?"

Kokoa gave back a smirking answer.

"It doesn't rain at Shuzen Castle. It's under a barrier too. The gardens are watered while we sleep."

Tsukune asked a follow-up question.

"And when you were out in the Human World?"

It was now Moka's turn to answer him.

"Usually we ran quickly indoors. Needless to say when we are outside a protective weather barrier we always pay strict attention to the weather reports."

Ruby suddenly seemed to have a revelation. She then gave voice to her thoughts.

"Well, you guys will almost always be with either Yukari or me when walking to and from the house."

"That's right! We can always whip-up something to protect you guys."

To emphasize her point Yukari pulled her wand out and sent bright sparkles out the end of it.

Moka, though clearly not entirely convinced that the witches could constantly protect her and her sister from the dangers of rain, did seem a bit less concerned now.

"I have to admit it will be nice to have different types of weather again, even if we have to take extra precautions for it."

Her admission seemed to brighten both witches. Then Ruby sent Yukari a sly sidelong glance as she gently bumped her upper right forearm into Yukari's left shoulder.

"So…since Kokoa has already claimed Moka as her roommate…well Yukari, since we're both witches and all I was wondering if…you'd want to be my….."

Ruby's rather shy suggestion was met instantaneous joy.

"YES! I'll be your roommate!"

Yukari leaped up in joy and wrapped her arms happily around a blushing but very happy Ruby's neck.

In the midst of this warm scene, Kurumu and Mizore seemed to come to an apparently distasteful conclusion at the exact same time.

"But that means…."

"But Kurumu's so, clingy. I get hot easily and she's always on top of you in bed."

"I'M CLINGY? You're the one that likes to put your cold body parts all over other people!"

Of course, Yukari and Kokoa couldn't let the opportunity to harass the other two's mutual complaints pass without teasing commentary.

"AWE! The lovey-dovey couple already having a lovers' spat about bed space! AWE! Isn't it precious?"

Both Kurumu and Mizore shot Kokoa a death glare, which made Yukari begin to snicker.

"Hehehe! I don't know why they pretend not to like each other so much when they always wind up snuggling together?"

Mizore, as befitted her uniquely, sent back a rather frosty reply.

"With your mutual obsessions over Moka, neither of you should be pointing fingers at anyone over girl-on-girl activities."

The results made Kurumu smile at them with vicious pleasure. Both young ladies began to blush profusely, but Yukari had a shy smile as well while Kokoa looked like Mizore had just stabbed her with a dagger.

Before the younger pair could retaliate, Ruby again tactfully changed the topic.

"SO GUYS! Obviously, I plan to keep the Plum Room as mine and now Yukari's as well; so that means there are two rooms to choose from left. The Raspberry Room next door and the Peach Room at the end of the balcony."

She then turned her warm smile on a slightly surprised looking Tsukune.

"Do you happen to have a coin we can flip Tsukune?"

"Sure, let me dig a bit and…."

Tsukune's right hand rummaged around in his corresponding pant pocket for a moment before he pulled out a rather large coin and held it up towards Ruby.

"Oh! I had a 500¥ in there!"

He seemed genuinely surprised to have the high denomination coin in his possession.

"Wait? What are we determining with a coin flip?"

Ruby happily answered Kurumu's inquiry.

"Whichever pair wins the coin flip will get to select the next bedroom; the other two agree to take the other room by default. Is that acceptable?"

Kurumu, Mizore, Moka, and Kokoa all sent each other brief questioning glances, but soon all seemed resolved to a mutual answer without ever exchanging words between them.

"Agreed!"

Ruby smiled at the positive response, but then seemed to suddenly remember something important.

"And one more thing…"

The four girls all focused again on Ruby.

"The winners agree to wait until they see both rooms before making their choice."

Kokoa folded her arms over her chest with a smirk.

"Well, it would be stupid to take the first room without seeing the other choice as well."

Ruby ignored her sarcasm once more and simply kept on smiling as she talked.

"Good, since Moka is the oldest of you four, she'll call it in the air."

Moka sent her back an odd look then.

"Why did you have to point my age out?"

This only made Ruby smirk back at her with some mirth.

"Because as the oldest of all of us, I rarely get the chance to pick on someone for being 'old'."

This response made Moka knowingly smirk back in mild amusement.

"So, flowers or numbers?"

Tsukune's question to her made Moka briefly focus on the large bronze-gold colored coin resting on top of Tsukune's fist with his thumb under neither it, ready to propel it in the air.

"Numbers!"

Tsukune took her response as an order to proceed and the coin vaulted about a meter in the air before tumbling back down into the same hand.

Instinctively Tsukune clutched his fingers around it, and then extended his clenched hand between the four participants who all seemed quite eager to see the result.

Then he unclenched his fist for them.

"Numbers it is!"

Ruby nodded toward the Shuzen Sisters.

"Moka and Kokoa get to pick the room."

"Vampires win! Like we always do."

Slightly behind Moka's field of vision, Kokoa sent Kurumu and Mizore another tongue out expression after taunting them verbally.

Ruby moved past everyone and back toward the hallway.

"So let's go look at the first available room next door, shall we?"

Everyone followed her back out and into the room next whos door was set only a meter or two away from the one they just exited.

"So this is obviously the Raspberry Room. Not sure how I feel about the color."

Moka offered a toned down but generally similar assessment of this room's reddish-purple hue as her sister had.

"It's quite bold, to say the least."

The room was about the same size as the previous Plum Room, but where that room was arranged in a right-handed configuration, this one was its left-hand opposite. One window was in the wall opposite the door and opened to the same back of the house view of woods breaking up the distant view of the lake beyond. The other window, set in the left wall, opened up onto the massive side yard that stretched down to the unobstructed lake shore nearly one hundred meters from the house. The only significant different between the two generally square shaped rooms was that unlike the Plum room, where the closet door was on the right of the entranceway and stretched long ways against the hall wall, in the Raspberry Room the long side of the closet went long ways down the outside wall of the house, terminating near the lake view window. The desk for this room was under that same window and the exact same type of two-person bed had its head on the wall between the two bedrooms.

"I kind of like it."

Mizore seemed to agree with Kurumu as they both stared at the lake and yard beyond through the window.

"This seems to be just like the last room, just with the closet and windows in a different location."

Ruby smiled as Moka and Kokoa moved to also look out towards the lake.

"I almost chose this room because it has such a great view. Of course, the other bedroom at the front of the house has this same view of the lake."

"Hey, what's down there?"

Kokoa had got right up on the window and was looking down at the space between the yard and the house you could only see at this angle. Everyone else crowded around her to do the same, obviously irritating her in the process.

"Oh! That's the patio. We'll go down there in a little bit."

Everyone seemed very interested in the outdoor recreation area below, but without further comment, Ruby turned to leave the room. Once they realized she was leaving they began to follow her out onto the balcony walkway.

Kurumu looked back down again at the huge living room below them with admiration.

"The living room is even more impressive from one floor up."

"It's just so….."

"...Big?"

Yukari and Tsukune shared a warm smile as they completed each other's thoughts.

"Very!"

Ruby directed there gaze to the right with a hand motion.

"The larger bathroom and its water closet are right in here."

She opened two doors on her right, the first of which led into the water closet, and the second door that led into bathroom. The group easily fit inside this somewhat larger but similarly equipped bathroom.

"Well! It is bigger than the other one!"

Yukari nearly knocked Kokoa over in mid-sentence trying to get a look at the room.

"And the tub is recessed into the bay windows too!"

Just like the kitchen table downstairs, this two-person bathtub occupied this floor's bay window space.

"It has the same amenities as the other bathroom, but with slightly more floor space. It also has the vampire herb adapter for the shower."

Mizore spoke out from the doorway between the water closet and the bathroom.

"This water closet also has a sink."

"Six sinks for six ladies. That's rather convenient."

Tsukune had meant it as a light comment but it was also ironically true. On this floor not only were the bedrooms in shades that would appeal to feminine sensibilities but it also had, including each sink in both water closets, exactly six vanity sinks.

More than one lady present found that coincidence to be a bit too convenient, but they kept those thoughts to themselves for now. A lot of things about this house were too tailor-made for them really.

Once back on the balcony Ruby indicated the last door on their right before reaching the doorway that terminated the walkway.

"This door right beside the last bedroom door is the upstairs closet. All the cleaning supplies and bed sheets are up here. On the first floor and the ground floor, the cleaning closets are under the staircases."

Having reached the door at the end, Ruby turned to speak to them once more.

"So here we are at the final bedroom. It's a little different than the other two. It's more rectangular where the other two are square; plus it's on the front of the house so one of the front windows is a little bigger than the rest. Also, the closet is the same size as the others, but it's flush with the wall where the others kind of formed a little hallway near the door inside the room itself.

She then opened the door and stepped in to allow the others access.

The room they entered indeed was longer but narrower than the others. The bed, identical to the other two on this floor, all just slightly smaller versions of Tsukune's own bed downstairs, was against the wall it shared with the massive living room. Opposite it was a window that opened out towards the huge side yard and lake just like the one in the Raspberry Room. The desk in this room set under that significantly larger window on the other side of the bed that was on the front of the house. The curving dirt road that bent back towards Yokai Academy and the woods on the other side could easily be seen from it.

"This is the Peach Room."

Ruby was certainly right about that. The light pink walls made this room the "brightest" of all four in the house.

For some reason, despite its bright color, this room instantly made Tsukune a little sad. He had no particular reason to feel this way, but then it suddenly hit him why.

 _"Oh, right…."_

It was the exact same shade as "her" hair.

As if to emphasize that fact. Moka moved to pass him then to get a better look at what she might shortly choose to be her new bedroom. As if the sunlight streaming through the windows was conspiring with the pink pigment on the walls to wreck what was left of his self-control, Moka's white-silver locks seemed to drink in that color. For a second he thought he could see the slightest shade of pink glowing in all those platinum strands.

Then he felt concern radiating through him. Concern for himself. When he suddenly felt compelled for no particular reason to turn his head to his right, moist purple-lavender eyes were the first thing he saw. Giving him a quick little smile before abruptly turning away, it took some additional restraint for Tsukune not to ask Kurumu what had upset her so.

 _"But was she upset? Wasn't I just upset too?"_

"OK, not too bad."

Kokoa's rather approving sounding words let him break out of these morose thoughts he had just been having.

"I see all the rooms have the same vanity table and the same bed, except Tsukune's downstairs."

When she flashed him her golden smile for a second her hair again looked almost pink to him. Only those garnet-like eyes told him it wasn't the same "her" he was seeing, but the other..."her". There wasn't a single streak of precious emerald in all that gorgeous garnet.

 _"How can I love them both…..both versions of 'her' so much at the same time? How can I be so damn greedy and selfish?"_

He nodded enthusiastically to her, but she must have seen something was off in his expression. For a brief moment, she squinted at him in concern.

He also was certain those lavender eyes were on him again too, but he didn't turn to look this time.

There was a lot of guilt and self-doubt for him in that direction as well.

Truth be told he's been feeling that way in a lot of directions around him recently and currently. The protracted battle with Alucard and Fairy Tail had let him suppress that feeling for a while, but now…

Luckily Ruby came to the rescue once more.

"Tsukune's bed is King sized while all the others are Queen sized."

Moka seemed at least temporarily willing to ignore whatever she just saw in his expression that bothered her.

"I didn't notice that before, they're drawers under these beds too."

"OH YES! I completely forgot. Yes, all the beds have these drawers for extra storage. Just like Tsukune's bed."

Turning to give Tsukune her equally beautiful smile at that last part of her statement, Ruby's own expression became a bit concerned when she looked on his face.

 _"Damn it! Am I really that damn transparent?"_

He was certain he was smiling as much as he possibly could, what in his expression was betraying him so?

Ruby seemed to search his face with worry on her own for a moment, but then she turned back to the vampire sisters and after briefly wetting her ample lips with her tongue she again smiled before asking the ultimate question of this bedroom tour.

"If you guys would like a minute longer to think about your choice?"

Moka and Kokoa locked eyes for a moment, then nodded to each other and turned to face the group.

Moka spoke first.

"We've made our choice."

Kokoa finished for her.

"We'll take this room."

Ruby then glanced over her shoulder at the other pair.

"You guys feel good about that?"

"I like the other bedroom better, so yes."

Kurumu agreed with Mizore.

"Yup, I think this works."

For some odd reason, Tsukune got the impression Kurumu wanted nothing to do with the color pink of this room, though why he felt this way was an enigma to him.

Ruby clapped her hands together in delight.

"OUTSTANDING! Well, let's go see the ground floor, shall we?"

The gang all piled out of the room but Tsukune lingered for a second.

The melancholy feelings these bright pink walls gave to him felt like it had seeped into his bones. Somehow just rushing out of this room, now "her" room, felt wrong.

It was as if he were leaving "her" behind yet again.

Like he left "her" behind last night.

Yet how could that be so, when she was looking back at him from the doorway with concern once more showing in her eyes, and her hand stretched out for his.

"Come along Tsukune."

He smiled to "her" and took "her" hand, and she led him out of the room with its strangely haunting pink walls.

 _"There is now, and only has ever been….one Moka."_

Was that really true now though? All of his beliefs in that vital statement, which up till now had served to keep his life at least partially organized, had been shattered just hours ago.

Where did Outer Moka end and Inner Moka begin? Was there really no difference between them? Where did either Moka fit in relation to Akasha-sama in this one beautiful young woman?

Was it Inner Moka, Outer Moka, or Asasha-sama he was really in love with?

Was it ALL of them?

Was it more than them?

His eyes drifted from the front of the beautiful line of wonderful women he now had the privilege to live with. Vivacious Ruby chatting happily with adorable Yukari as she led the line down the stairs below him. Exquisite Mizore gliding around the railing to follow them. Gorgeous Moka and captivating Kurumu looking back at him as they followed, and at the bottom of the stairs was….

He shook his head suddenly as if a ghost had called his name.

"You okay?"

Kurumu and Moka asked him this at the same time, which made every eye now look to him with concern.

"Sorry, guess I'm still a little tired."

His carefree response and forced smile didn't seem to satisfy any of his beautiful companions, but after brief gazes were exchanged, the line of infinite beauty continued to descend further downward.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ruby made an immediate U-turn and he'd down the next set of stairs with the group members following in turn.

When she reached the bottom she turned around and indicated the door now on her right and their left as the rest looked down from whatever step they had just happened to stop on.

"Right here beside the stairs is the water closet for this floor. It's identical to the one on the floor right above it off the kitchen."

She then looked towards the hallway headed back towards the front of the house.

"Let's start back over this way behind the stairs."

The hallway stretched to the front of the house off the right side of the staircase. It also went straight in the opposite direction toward the back of the house. The water closet was to the left at the base of the stairs with another short wall directly ahead which formed a square-shaped alcove that opened to the hallway on its right side.

When she finally could see to both ends of the hallway, Kokoa pointed in the opposite direction everyone was now heading in.

"Hey! What's up those steps at the end of the hallway?"

At the end of the hall heading towards the back of the house were three steps that led to a raised platform and what looked like a glass door off the platform on the right. There also seemed to be another set of double glass doors in the middle of the wall on the left before you got to those steps.

"Don't worry, we'll get there in a minute."

Ruby had an unusually playful look as she said that but kept moving. When she reached the end of the hallway she stood between three doors, left, right, and forward.

"As you can see, there are three doors here. This one on the right goes under the stairs to the cleaning closet, but on the other side is another doorway."

She opened the door and stepped through. Sure enough, there was another door only the width of the staircase away and she also walked through that one as well.

"This room is the wine cellar, but sadly as you can see, there's…..no wine?"

This room's outer wall was clearly shaped to support the two stories of bay windows about it. Empty wooden racks that were clearly designed to support wine bottles at a proper angle lined the somewhat small room.

"Did they drink it all? Six whole bottles?"

Ruby seemed more impressed than upset at the loss of the wine. Clearly, she was referring to Nekonome and Ririko-senseis, given the state they found them in on arrival here today.

"Well, we can fix that! Yukari, wave that wand of yours and make it happen!"

Yukari very excitedly did what Kurumu suggested but Ruby's hand stopped her wand before any magic was applied.

"Let's not get carried away just yet, shall we?"

Her motherly tone brooked no chance for debate and everyone followed her back out and through the closet to the hallway. Here she opened the door that led straight off the hallway that was now on her right. Once inside the gang saw another massive room, but clearly, this room that was under the living room and dining room of the floor above was unfinished. Stacks of garden chairs and folding tables occupied one wall while opposite that seemed to be a few folded up event tents.

"As you can see, this is currently being used as storage space but it takes up the whole front of the basement. Not sure what the Chairman had intended it for originally but it could make an excellent training and exercise room."

"It's pretty dang big, it's true, it's true!"

Yukari was right, it was a massive space. Tsukune was equally impressed by its volume.

"Not sure which is bigger between this, the living room, and the game room, but they are all pretty close."

Moka seemed to be thinking very hard about something. When a few eyes fell on her she decided to give her thoughts voice.

"There's actually enough room down here for three more bedrooms. We could all have our own rooms."

The look of sudden concern on Kokoa's face was laughable in its extremity.

Yukari began to reply to Moka's sudden idea.

"Well, I could just…."

Her words stopped as a slightly pained expression came to her face and then an odd look to Ruby beside her, who began to talk once more.

"There's no windows down here though, plus it would be a lot of work for our poor Tsukune to put in walls and an extra bathroom down here, much less windows."

"But Ruby, we could just….AWE!"

The look of slight discomfort returned to Yukari's face as the others kept examining the room. A second later with an angry expression, she asked the source of her discomfort for an explanation in a rather loud tone.

"WHY ARE YOU STEP ON MY TOES FOR!?"

Ruby affected a concerned and surprised response.

"Oh! I'm sorry dear! I'm so clumsy when I'm tired."

Once she was certain the others weren't paying attention she leaned in to whisper to the younger witch.

"Be quiet about using magic to change this place. I'll explain when we're alone."

Yukari was surprised at first, then nodded her understanding and agreement.

"OK. Anything to keep you off my toes."

They finished in the downstairs bonus space and went into the final doorway at this end of the hall.

"The final door on the left here is the Laundry room."

Once everyone was inside she began to point out the features.

As you can see we have a large capacity dryer and washing machine. You'll notice that the laundry shoot goes straight to the washing machine. Beside that is the ground floor level opening for the dumb-waiter. We also have an industrial size tank-style water heater, so hot water should never be an issue.

Tsukune had to fight hard to suppress a snicker from escaping.

 _"Maybe, but with six women in this place we may be often testing that water heater's abilities."_

Kurumu oddly began to snicker beside him, but the odd looks in her direction quickly stopped her as Ruby continued.

"Here we have a sink and build in stainless steel scrub board for handling delicates that can't go in the washer."

"Obviously Moka and Kokoa won't be doing much in here."

Kurumu had meant it as a jab at her rival, but Moka answered back defiantly.

"We can fold and hang dry clothes or even start the washes."

Kokoa seemed put-off by this statement as she leaned in to whisper to her sister's ear.

"Onee-sama! If they're going to do the work for us….."

Moka immediately pulled away from her somewhat lazy younger sister, deciding to ignore her and refocus on Ruby.

"Over here we have two built-in, fold-down ironing boards."

Yukari nodded with an impressed look on her face.

"That's pretty nice!"

"Over against the wall here we have a rack to hang clothes to dry that can't be put in the dryer."

Mizore followed Ruby's words with her own comment on the room.

"This is a first class setup."

Seeing that everyone seemed satisfied with the laundry room, Ruby suggested they move on.

"There are only two rooms left!"

"Don't forget the garage!"

Everyone gave Tsukune a smirk for that friendly reminder as they passed him back into the hallway.

They walked past the bottom of the stairs on toward the back of the house.

Ruby indicated the two pocket glass doors on her left.

"Down here we have the Den."

The pocket doors were a necessity in this relatively small area.

Moka wasn't particularly impressed with this room.

"Another place for people to sit and accomplish little?"

Ruby gave her an awkward expression as she tried to justify the use of this space.

"I think Mikogami-sensei meant for this space to be more…..intimate…than the living room or game room."

Moka's eyes widened slightly with Ruby's use of that particular adjective and the slight blush of her cheeks that accompanied it.

"Oh, I see."

She wasn't the only one to see Ruby's point either. This wasn't meant as a high capacity sitting area. It almost looked as if it were meant for just two people to use, alone.

More than one girl present looked at the room now with new respect and anticipation.

"As you can see, another TV, another fireplace and a comfortable love seat. It's a lot cozier than either the game room or living room, and on the far side of the room are the basement doors that lead to the patio and on to the yard and lake beyond. We'll go out there in a few."

They went back out into the hallway and up the few steps that lead to a frosted glass door on the right.

Yukuri immediately noticed that the glass door wasn't like other doors in the house since it was frosted over to prevent the direct vision of whoever was inside.

"Wow, it's got a glass door like the showers upstairs!"

Kokoa had a curious expression on her face as well.

"Didn't you say there was another of those human carwashes like Tsukune has in his bathroom down here?"

Ruby's smile was now far too clever looking to hide her anticipation of their reactions to this next room.

"That I did! Trust me guys, I have saved the best for last."

She opened the door and as they each moved in their eyes began to bulge and their jaws dropped open in surprise.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence as they all tried to process what their minds could not seem to believe, one collective exclamation flew from every mouth at once.

"WOW!"

"It's our very own Onsen!"

Ruby smiled in response to Yukari's bubbling enthusiasm.

"I told you! It's the best for last!"

She then pointed out the room's features for her semi-shocked friends.

"As you can see we have a large and a small bath, which will be perfect for Moka and Kokoa to use with their herbs with. They both fill from the same source over against the wall there."

Even Kokoa seemed impressed, but she was already through another frosted glass door on the other end of the room.

"Sure enough, there are three shower heads in here and the first one has the compartment for the herbs too."

Tsukune pointed out the four full wall art pieces that graced each wall of the bathing room.

"Aren't these reproductions of pretty famous paintings from the 18th century here on the walls?"

Ruby answered him with a somewhat impressed expression on her face.

"They are four of the paintings from Katsushika Hokusai's masterpiece Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Master Mikogami was a fan of his work."

Kurumu was already licking her lips and sent Tsukune a look that made him blush profusely.

"How awesome will it be? When Tsukune-kun and I get to wash each other's backs tonight down here tonight, alone?"

"Like hell!"

Mizore quickly wrapped herself around Tuskune's right arm and sent a now angry looking Kurumu a defiant glare.

"If anyone is going to scrub Tsukune-kun's back it's going to be me."

"Really ladies, it's not a big deal."

Tsukune was trying to defuse the situation, but a certain female vampire had her own plans.

"What makes either of you think for one second that you'd ever be allowed down here alone with Tsukune-kun, much less get to touch him?"

To emphasize her point she practically pulled off Tsukune's right arm to get Mizore off him with a shove.

"Well Moka-san, let's not get too hasty."

Yukari's words brought her a rare rebuking glare from her adored idol. Yukari seemed to wither under the intensity of those glowing red eyes.

Ruby, on the other hand, seemed to be highly flustered with all of them now. It leaked out into the clipped tones of her voice.

"Perhaps we can now go outside and see the patio instead of having the same argument over again, and again, and AGAIN?

All the girls sent her a strange look, but it was now Tsukune's chance to rescue her instead.

"Yeah, let's go look at that massive grill we saw!"

He took off back out of the Onsen and after a few more angry glares were exchanged, the girls followed him with much less enthusiasm.

They went back into the den and out the double glass doors to stand in the August heat once more. Strangely though, now that the shadow of the house covered the brick-paved space, it seemed much more pleasant than when they first arrived here out front. There was even a light breeze coming off the lake.

"As you can see, the patio is fairly large and by the early afternoon, because the house is so tall here and we are facing east, most of the area begins to shade over."

Tsukune didn't pay much attention to Ruby's words. He hovered over the brick peninsula on the front left side of the patio that held a massive looking grill and a few other gadgets for the would-be "grillmaster" to lust over.

"This is an awesome grill, and since Kurumu won't let me cook inside I can take care of work out here! It has a mini-fridge and ice maker built in too! And a water supply and storage drawers. Dad is going to LOVE this!"

Then he had a rather devious smile on his face.

"Of course he'll have to watch in envy from over there since this is MY GRILL!"

The girls decided to ignore his maniacal looking delight as they examined the patio tables and chairs.

Yukari pointed at a white painted structure sent between two cheer trees near the lake shore.

"Is that a gazebo out there?"

Ruby nodded and answered her.

"Sure is, there's a porch swing inside. We also have a pier leading out onto the lake and two paddle boats."

All but the Shuzen sisters seemed excited about that particular feature of the property. Kokoa confirmed as much in her usually flippant style.

"Well, you guys have fun with that."

Ruby told them a bit more about the lake.

"We can also get one of the power boats from the Teachers' Village and use it over here too."

"So this is the same lake as the one behind the Teacher's Village?"

She had mentioned it before, but obviously, Tsukune had forgotten in all of the day's excitements. She was more than happy to repeat herself for him.

"Yup! It's a dog-leg lake created by damming up the local creek. It bows around behind the grove of woods behind the house and back out toward the Teachers' Village where it widens out."

Moka was looking to their left side at the wrap around porch and the wooden staircase that led to it from the patio.

"So these stairs beside the patio lead back up to the porch that then wraps all the way around to the front of the house?"

"That's right, the whole porch is a great place to read or relax at any time of the day too."

It was only then that they all seemed to realize Tsukune was heading off behind the house in the opposite direction.

Kokoa called out to him.

"Hey maggot! Where are you going?"

This brought a sharp rebuke from her beloved sister.

"Stop calling him that!"

Tsukune didn't seem to mind though as he answered her question without stopping.

"I'm headed to the garage. Bus Driver said Mikogami-sensei left me something there."

The girls quickly moved to follow Tsukune as he went behind the house and up the slight hill to where a door looked like it opened into what had to be the back of the garage.

"Does this door go to the back of the garage?"

Ruby nodded with a knowing smile on her face.

"It sure does."

Apparently, she was finally ready for Tsukune to see what Mikogami had left him for all his efforts. Tsukune held out his hand and the golden key appeared at his fingertips. He then inserted it into the lock and turned it, followed by turning the doorknob.

It was dark inside as there were no windows, but from the scant light coming in behind them, Tsukune saw a shining metallic panel near him.

"There's a car in here."

His tone was surprisingly mild. Yukari agreed with his assessment.

"A large one too!"

"Let me get the lights."

A second after Ruby said that the room filled with bright fluorescent glare, but as Yokai most of them needed none to scant time to adjust to the sudden brightness.

A shining automobile from another era sat there before them in all its polished and washed glory. Its paint seemed to drink up the light and make it sparkle with energy.

Yet something seemed wrong and Ruby was quick to notice it.

"Do you….not…like it?"

Tsukune stared down at the car silently and with no apparent expression. The other girls stopped admiring the car to now focus their own concerned looks on their love interest's odd reaction to such a wonderful gift. He slowly ran his fingers over the dark metallic flake paint with that same odd expression, then he lightly shook his head and finally answered Ruby's concerned question with one of his own.

"It's….a….it's just. Is this for…..me?"

Ruby, still concerned, quickly answered.

"Yes, Mikogami-sensei got it a little over a month ago. He said it was going to be the Chairman's personal vehicle. At the time I assumed he meant himself, but….."

Tsukune didn't even seem to be in the same room with the car as he looked down on it still with no apparent expression.

"But I'm not old enough to have a driver's license yet….."

Yukari cocked her head in worry at him.

"Not sure that's the point right now, Tsukune-kun."

Kokoa twisted up the corner of her mouth as she looked at the vehicle with a suspicious expression.

"It's kind of old, isn't it?"

For some reason, this comment finally lit a fire inside Tsukune that radiated passion and disbelief at her obtuseness.

"It's a 1964 Lincoln Continental. It's supposed to be old!"

Everyone was surprised at how vehement his response was, especially Kokoa who actually looked hurt that he had unexpectedly chastised her.

Before she could yell back at him he instantly recognized he had spoken harshly to her and moved to repair the damage.

"….sorry."

Kokoa, oddly for her, still seemed more hurt than angry. She replied to him in a pouty way.

"...you'd better be."

Ruby moved to quickly dispel the bad mood building in the garage now.

"Yes, but do you like it?"

Tsukune seemed on the verge of crying now as he responded to her.

"It's one of the coolest cars ever built! Of course, I like it! I freaking LOVE IT!"

More than one girl present now looked at the car with some jealousy, so potent and palpable had Tsukune's passion for it just been made clear.

Ruby wasn't one of the jealous ones though, she seemed greatly relieved to hear that he indeed liked the car, almost as if she had been involved in picking it out for him.

Moka's "glare" at the car was equal parts jealousy and curiosity.

"Wait, isn't this the same type of car that American President Kennedy was assassinated in?"

Yukari seemed oddly well informed on the topic as she answered Moka's question.

"It's the same model but Kennedy's was older, convertible, and heavily modified."

Kurumu smiled as she put her hands on Tsukune's left arm as he smiled down at his reflection in the perfect paint.

"You really like it Tsukune-kun?"

"Yes, I used to have a model of this car when I was a kid. It has suicide doors in the back and everything. I never knew they made a right-hand drive version though."

She smiled even more.

"Yeah, I remember."

He sent her an odd expression then, that seemed to force her to look away rather quickly.

"Huh?"

Ruby's voice stopped their conversation from developing any further.

"Actually, I think Mikogami-sensei found it in Australia and had it shipped here. I know it was in the shop for a while before it came here."

Mizore sent the car a worried look as she commented on it.

"If we're supposed to be maintaining a low profile, riding around the Human World in this will effectively defeat that purpose."

Ruby gave her a serious expression as she addressed her concerns.

"This car has some built-in features that will help with that issue. It operates the same way as the Bus though, so it can travel through the Barriers with ease."

Then, to everyone's surprise, Tsukune yawned loudly and stretched.

"I want you to tell me all about it Ruby, but right now I'm tired and starving. Maybe this has all been too much at one time and it's worn me out already? Anyone else ready to eat?"

Then a low rumble could be heard and suddenly Moka's cheeks began to glow red as they all realized that sound had emanated from her tummy.

Kurumu smirked with vicious delight at her rival's embarrassment.

"Well, I guess that answered your question, huh Tsukune?"

Ruby was less harsh but seemed to be suppressing a laugh.

"There should be enough for us to have lunch inside, but we'll need to go grocery shopping before dinner tonight."

"Well let's eat already!"

With an angry look, Kokoa marched to the door that clearly led back into the house. The others piled in behind her.

Tsukune stopped beside the very embarrassed looking Moka, who clearly didn't want to look at him in her embarrassment, but his warm smile for her was too inviting to ignore. He slid his right hand in her left and they both went back into the main part of the house together.


	8. Short Day VI

The civilian tilt-rotor with Morioka International markings on it made good time between Yokai Academy and Kansai. All civilian flights were grounded by order of the Prime Minister only minutes after Fairy Tail's Hanging Gardens crashed into Minato Mirai, but surprisingly within two hours normal flight operations were restored in those areas of the country not directly affected by the attacks. Even more shocking was most of the flights into areas that were attacked, like Kansai, were back to normal before sunrise.

Still, there were heavy restrictions in place, especially for private flights similar to this one.

Needless to say, a major defense contractor, like several of Morioka Internation's subsidiaries, had ways around these rules.

Gin was barely paying his native Osaka, looming ever closer to them, any attention at all.

His mind was elsewhere.

Suddenly the cabin speakers crackled to life, breaking his self-imposed mental isolation.

["Just wanted to keep you informed Morioka-san. Local air traffic control has asked that we approach the tower from the northwest to avoid the smoke from the damaged areas of the surrounding cities and downtown Osaka."]

Haiji was much more interested than Gin in what was going on below them as he sat opposite the siblings in the rear-facing bench seat. His eyes darted this way and that as he scanned the city below them eagerly.

Still cuddled in next to her distant brother, Akaio pushed a button on the armrest next to her and replied to the pilot.

"Understood, thanks for the update."

"Gin, you see that?"

Both Gin and Haiji were looking out of windows on the same side of the craft, so there was no way Gin had missed anything that would have been of interest to him.

"I'm sure downtown Osaka's damage doesn't look all the different from what we saw when passing Kyoto and Otsu a few minutes ago."

Haiji wasn't obtuse enough to force a conversation with his disinterested companion. Gin was right, the few wisps of smoke moving up from the Osaka downtown area weren't particularly more interesting than those in the other major population centers they had already passed, but they were much closer.

Instead, Haiji engaged Gin's sister next.

"Akaio-senpai, did the Morioka Family fight last night too?"

Akaio had just been checking her phone when she politely put it down to focus on Haiji.

"I wasn't here personally, I was in Tokyo on business and nowhere near the fighting there either; but I'm told that Great-grandfather personally led the family out to join the rest of Osaka's Yokai community to drive off the Alucard-spawn attacking the Humans."

Gin scoffed at this.

"Will miracles never cease? Was it from the goodness of his blackened old heart, or were they getting too close to the corporate properties?"

Akaio sat up and directed a serious look to her wayward otouto.

"I hope you can find somewhere to bottle-up that sarcastic attitude of yours before we land. Antagonizing Great-grandfather will serve no purpose."

Gin scofted at that too.

"No Purpose? It will make me feel a lot better."

The speakers chose that moment to come to life again before Akaio could chastise Gin further.

["Please sit down and fasten your restraints. We'll be landing in a few moments."]

To emphasize that fact the tilt-rotor engines and propellers at the end of the wings slowly began to rotate from horizontal to vertical. Haiji dutifully fastened his seat restraints as did Akaio, but Gin only did so after a sisterly elbow found his right ribs.

As their horizontal speed began to noticeably slow the buildings of downtown Osaka seemed to rise upwards through their windows. Haiji, somewhat ironically for a species that can fly, seemed to get very nervous as they descended from on high.

Then their vertical descent also noticeably slowed as well and after a brief moment of hovering, a final minuscule drop and the resultant lurch of hitting a solid surface indicated the flight was over. As the now vertical propellers reduced to idle speed, their pilot addressed them once more.

["We have successfully landed, you may remove your restraints. Please wait for the copilot to open the cabin door before exiting."]

A few seconds later the helmeted copilot, stylized Morioka wolf's head mon on his flight suit's right breast, exited the cockpit into the cabin and opened the door on the starboard side of the vehicle, stepping out first to secure it and lower the folding steps. He then extended his hand to Akaio, who stood up and took it as he helped her onto the helipad. He offered Gin and Haiji his hand in turn but neither used his help. Haiji did, however, bow and shook his hand, thanking him again for the pilot and he showing him how to operate the craft.

The helipad was circular and occupied the entire top of one of the three towers that made up the headquarters of Morioka International. The other towers were almost identical buildings and were several stories taller, both looming over the helicopter pad.

As they moved toward a descending stairway near the edge of the pad Gin looked up at the tallest of the three buildings as if he saw an enemy looking down on him. If that were the case though, Gin had to have better vision than his friend because all Haiji could see was darkened glass reflecting the bright sunlight, generally blue sky, and scattered clouds.

It also reflected the almost put out smoke trails rising from the nearby area where the night before Osaka's Yokai had fended off the Alucard-spawn and it's Fairy Tail allies.

At the bottom of the stairs, an automatic sliding door opened to reveal three exquisitely beautiful middle-aged women all in gorgeous kimonos.

Akaio looked back at Haiji then with a knowing smile.

"Haiji-san let me introduce you to…"

They both then turned to look at the three beautiful Ojusamas, who were now bowing in their directions.

"….. Fumiko-san, Yujiko-san and Katsura-san. Ladies, this is Miyamoto-dono, he's one of our Ginei's very good friends."

They responded in perfect unison.

"Greeting Miyamoto-dono, welcome to the noblest House Morioka. We shall take good care of you."

Haiji now awkwardly returned their bow.

"Um…thanks, please do, and please call me Haiji."

Again they responded in perfect unison.

"As you wish, Haiji-sama."

Akaio and Gin both sent the nervous looking Haiji interested smirks, but the sister's smile seemed friendlier than her brother's.

"These three will be taking care of you while you're staying with us."

"Um…..taking care of me?"

Clearly, Haiji's mind went back to the old movies and tales of how things were when entering an ancient noble house. He even began to blush a bit. Akaio almost giggled at his all too provincial reaction.

"If you have any needs or desires, don't hesitate to ask them. Dinner will be at eight tonight with cocktails about thirty minutes before. I'm afraid Gin and my parents are out of town as are our grandparents, but you will get to meet Great-grandfather this evening."

"Lucky you."

Gin's tone indicated he felt the opposite of his words was true.

Haiji suddenly realized he was only wearing his normal dojo gi and undergarments. Perfectly fine for fighting off foes and demons, but most inappropriate for meeting one of the richest men on Earth.

"I….ah….in my enthusiasm to come, I forget to get a change of clothes. I don't really have anything appropriate for dinner wear."

Gin effortlessly shrugged off his friend's deep concerns.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be dining in traditional style. Great-grandfather prefers that way for small dinners. I'm sure we'll have a kimono ready for you."

Akaio rather more positively followed her brother's statement.

"Does the Miyamoto clan have a mon or family crest that you know of?"

This question only seemed to cause Haiji more consternation.

"I…..um….well I…..don't really know."

Akaio turned to the three ojousamas and began issuing instructions.

"The house tailor will stop by to take Haiji-san's measurements in two hours. Make sure he's bathed and…..relaxed, by then."

The three bowed accordingly, but Haiji seemed even more nervous than before.

"You're going to have a kimono MADE for me? You really shouldn't go through the trouble. That's really way too much."

Akaio flashed her brilliant smile at him before replying, her radiant beauty instantly causing his brain to malfunction even more than usual.

"Nonsense! You're an honored guest in our home, plus Ginei's friend and combat companion. A simple five crested kimono is the least we can do to express our gratitude. Anyway, Gin has to have a new one made as well, why not make one for both of you?"

Haiji didn't seem able to find a reasonable counter-argument as he scratched timidly at the back of his head.

"Well, that's…..very kind of you. Thank you very much."

As Haiji bowed to Akaio, Gin replied in his usual blasé tones.

"Think nothing of it. Great-grandfather keeps a tailor on the staff and has a new suit made for himself weekly. God only knows how much the cousins abuse the privileges. Akaio, let's have the tailor make Haiji a suit or two of his choosing and several shirts to go with it."

Haiji was certain Gin had gone too far this time, but Akaio seemed to think it was a great idea.

"Excellent otouto! If he can't finish before you leave we'll have it sent to you at the Academy."

Haiji looked like he was having a hard time keeping his eyeballs from spinning free inside their sockets.

"Really guys, it's way too much."

Gin started to walk down the hallway then.

"Don't worry about it. We have all the materials on hand already and the guy likes making clothes. If you want something else made, like a few new gi, just tell him so when he comes to measure you."

Akaio followed her brother to a nearby elevator but when Haiji moved to join them one of the ladies gracefully blocked his path and with a hand sweep indicated for Haiji to accompany them in that direction.

Seeing Haiji's concern, Gin called out to him in a teasing tone.

"I'll stop by and pick you up before dinner. Around 7:15 tonight. and ladies, make sure he enjoys his stay."

This last statement made Haiji's eyes bludge a bit too much, and his three lovely companions seemed very amused by his reaction. They again spoke in unison.

"Yes Ginei-sama, we certainly will."

With gentle hands, the two other ojousamas took the nervous Haiji by each arm and directed him off down the nearby hallway.

"This way to the baths Haiji-sama."

"The…..BATHS?"

As the elevator doors closed Akaio finally allowed herself a true laugh, but Gin just leaned disinterestedly against the side of the elevator.

Knowing her little brother's moods all too well, Akaio put her arm around his back and squeezed him into her.

"Don't worry, we'll be taking that bath together first too. I'll make sure we scrub all of birdgi…..um, I mean, San-san's, scent off you before you go see him."

Gin rolled his eyes at her, but then her phone suddenly chirping brought that device back out and both sets of eyes looked at it with interest. Akaio then heaved a heavy and disappointed sigh.

"Damn."

Gin only smirked, already having a good idea what had just caused his sister to react that way.

"Let me guess. He wants to see me immediately?"

Without directly responding Akaio pushed another button and the elevator car stopped, then moved back upward. As the car lurched upward Akaio finally confirmed his educated guess, if only in an indirect fashion.

"Please try not to fight with him. There's really no point to it. It will just make your visit less pleasant."

Gin laughed a bit as he smirked.

"Less pleasant for you, you mean?"

Akaio pouted as she directed him a sideways glare.

"Is making your beloved sister's life a little easier not enough reason for you to behave properly?"

To her obvious surprise and delight, Gin pulled her into him and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'll try, for your sake if nothing else."

It may not have been the romantic gesture she truly wanted from him, but she reacted as if it had been, wrapping both her arms around his midsection and beaming with joy.

"AWE! You do still love me."

That tender sibling moment came to an abrupt end as the car stopped and the doors opened onto a bright window-filled area. They stepped off and kept moving forward onto one of three of the Morioka Building's cross-tower pedestrian walkways. The sides were all glass and the smoky wisps of last night's combat were still drifting lazily upwards between the rest of Osaka's skyscrapers.

Once across and in the tallest tower they moved up a grand modernist staircase to the level above. On the wall at the top of this staircase was a painting of a lovely woman in a kimono or yukata with flowers in her hands and hair. She couldn't have been much older than them when the photograph this painting was copied from was originally made. Both solemnly stopped in front of her portrait and stood upright, side-by-side, and bowed in unison. Then Gin followed his sister into the alcove behind this partition wall, where on the other side a family shire was located. A different portrait of the same lovely woman was also located here, as were several objects that had belonged to her in own lifetime. A jade encrusted hair comb, two carved Chinese-style hairpins, the lavender-colored obi sash she worn in the painting lovingly folded as if she were ready to put it on again. The white kimono in the picture with lilac accents was preserved elsewhere. Every woman in the family wore it at least once. Akaio wore it for her graduation party a couple of years back and seemed very moved to have it on then.

In the incense holder, two incense sticks glowed low, their aromatic smoke dominating the scent in the small area.

Akaio kneeled before the altar on the provided cushion and took up an unlit incense stick. Lighting it from one of the already burning sticks, she placed it in the holder and placed her hands together before her in prayer.

"Most revered Great-grandmother, I pray for your soul in this life and the next. May you watch over us, your family, with pride and satisfaction in our works and deeds. May you find us worthy of your love and concern."

They weren't exactly the traditional prayers for the souls of the dead, but they were what this family used as prayers for their long-dead matriarch.

She bowed once more to the painting and rose to her feet. Gin needed no instructions from his Nee-chan here. He took her place before the altar and followed her example to the letter.

Once complete, they stood upright before the altar and dutifully bowed in unison once more. Exiting the alcove and passing their Great-grandmother's other portrait again, they stopped and turned to bow yet again, this time in turns, before heading down the hallway to the left of the stairs.

After a few steps away from the family shrine, Gin asked his sister's opinion on the lady they had never met.

"Ever wonder how different he might have been had she lived?"

Akaio, without stopping, sent her brother a curious stare before looking forward once more, only then did she reply.

"Yes, but it's best not to dwell on things that might have been. Better to focus on how things can still be."

This made Gin form a wry smile.

"Oh….philosophical in your old age?"

She didn't bother to turn around this time to respond.

"Who are you calling old?"

At the end of the hallway, an opaque glass door led into another large room. After passing through the set of identical doors in the middle of that space they entered another area with the large curving glass of the building's exterior on their left-hand side. To the right was a plushly furnished sitting area. Near the doorway in the far wall was a desk, where a beautiful older woman was already standing and turning a bright smile on Gin once she saw it was him.

A smile that, despite his mood, Gin couldn't help but return in kind. She was around the desk and standing centimeters from him within what seemed like milliseconds.

"Akaio-san, you were supposed to bring us home our Gin-Gin-kun. Who is this handsome full-grown man that you brought back instead?"

Gin's smile curled up on one side in response to her glowing smile.

"It's good to see you again too Masuka-san."

Her beautiful smile instantly turned into a mock-scowl.

"What's this Masuka-san garbage? Did we stop being friends while you were away at school?"

Gin sent her back the appropriately contrite and embarrassed expression.

"Well…..of course not."

"Well then?"

She spread her arms wide for him and Gin willingly leaned down into her embrace. He had long ago learned that the way to Keiko's heart was simple affection.

"Sorry, Keiko-chan."

She beamed up at him as she patted him lovingly on the back.

"You'd better be! Don't ever be formal with me like that again!"

Gin parted from her and gave her a surrendering smile.

"I won't, I promise."

Masuka Keiko, who didn't look anywhere close to her real age, had been Nokiba's personal secretary for decades before Gin was born. She had come into employment with what was then only known as Morioka Metal Products in the early 1970's. She was a young mother whose ex-husband had divorced her for another woman and left her to raise their children on her own. At the time, Nokiba ran his budding corporate empire modestly out of the simplicity of a small trailer at the back of the metal products facility, and it was literally the first job she had applied for.

The rest, as Ruby would say, was a long story. It was an accepted fact that she was Nokiba's wife in all but legal terms. Nokiba also became a surrogate father to her children, but whether they or their descendants know that "Chichi Kiba" and his own family are werewolves, Gin highly doubted that. Their own matriarch, however, knew all about it.

Truth was, this woman was more a Great-grandmother to him than the lovely young lady in the portrait back down the hallway.

Gin loved this woman like family, and thought she deserved much more than just being that old man's concubine; but his Great-grandmother's spirit hovering constantly over this family's minds was something Keiko-chan seemed able to live with, with surprising grace.

Keiko held Gin out by the shoulders now to get a better look at him.

"My word! You certainly HAVE grown up into quite the handsome young man! You look just like your father when he was your age. How do the girls at Yokai Academy keep their hands off you?"

Akaio piped up from next to Gin at that comment.

"All I know is they had better keep their hands off him!"

Keiko sent her a look between sympathy and irritation. She, of course, knew this family's most guarded of secrets too, so she knew exactly how possessive Akaio was of her otouto.

With a suddenly cocked eyebrow, Keiko leaned in to sniff at Gin's shirt with a displeased look, which made Gin blush in embarrassment.

"Um…..you bathed since last night, but you put the same clothes back on. I can smell combat all over you. We're all proud of you by the way! How you and your friend downstairs fought in the battle against Alucard."

Then her eyes grew slightly larger as she sniffed at him some more.

"There's a female scent here too, a Yokai with feathers I believe."

For a human, she had an amazing sense of smell, which she naturally attributed to being a woman and a mother. Truth was, as a human, Keiko had had to find her own way of identifying potential threats to the Morioka Clan, and one she became particularly good at over time was smell.

Literally, thousands of humans and Yokai had come through these doors, and former Morioka industry doors, over the decades. This gave Keiko excellent chances to develop her olfactory detection skills to near Lycan levels.

Kieko sent Gin a knowing smirk and a wink after pulling back again.

"The Siren huh? She is cute."

Where before Gin's blushing was mild, now he could feel real heat in his face.

"Um…well…"

He could also feel the real heat of a different variety less than a meter to his right.

"He doesn't need your encouragement in that department Keiko-chan."

Keiko now redirected that teasing smirk at a slightly angry Akaio.

"Um…I bet he doesn't need encouragement at all; do you Gin-Gin-kun?"

Akaio's eyes flared with rage but before anything else could be said on that topic, a speaker on Keiko's desk suddenly sprang to life with the gruff voice of an older gentleman.

["If you're done teasing my Great-Grandson Kieko, would you mind sending him in now?"]

As one of the few people on this Earth capable of scolding that old man and living through it, Keiko hollered back so that her voice would penetrate the heavy office doors.

"Wait your turn!"

Keiko then sent Gin a sympathetic look as she removed his signature headband for him and straightened his now loose hair with her fingers.

"Well…..you'd best go in now."

Gin sighed with a smile and a shrug and moved toward the doors that led into Nokiba's inner sanctum. When she moved to follow her bother, Keiko's hand on her left forearm stopped Akaio in her tracks.

"Not you Dear. He wants to talk with him alone."

For the first time Akaio looked truly concerned.

"But I…"

Keiko gently shook her head at the younger female.

"No fussing dear. I have some paperwork for you to go over. Once Gin's free I'll send him downstairs to you."

Akaio sent her brother a concerned and almost pleading look, but Gin looked back to her nonchalantly.

"Quit worrying. The worse he could do is kill me."

Akaio continued to stare with concern at the door after Gin had moved through it. Keiko moved up next to her and wrapped a maternal arm around her shoulders. The hand of that arm had Gin's headband still in it and she handed it over to his sister.

"Don't worry Dear. Nokiba-san won't argue with him, much."

Akaio sniffed her brother's headband with a forlorn expression before replying rather meekly.

"No, but they are both are capable of making each other very unhappy though."

EveKeikoko could not refute this obvious fact, no matter how much she wished she could.

* * *

The doorway into the office opened on the right-hand side of the room. The curved wall of windows wrapped around from the left to the front. Across the room was a relatively moderate-sized desk that the massive room seemed to swallow up. Two empty chairs sat in front of that desk and an occupied chair was on the other side of it. The occupant of that chair's silver crown of hair could just be seen over the top of the chair back. He was facing away from Gin and towards the windows, which had been darkened enough for three video screens to be projected on them. Gin instantly recognized news footage from the battles of the previous night. The center screen was obviously from Minato Mirai.

To the right of the desk and straight on was a relatively informal sitting area that would be at home in any nice living room. Against the wall next to the sitting area was a wet bar.

His great-grandfather neither spoke to him nor turned around. Gin also didn't speak, he simply went to the wet bar and poured himself a scotch on the rocks. He then plopped himself lazily into a chair and took a few sips of his beverage.

After a few moments more of silence, his great-grandfather finally spoke to him. Never taking his eyes off the broadcasts being protected on the darkened windows.

"I must have lost track of the years. I could have sworn you were still eighteen and not twenty yet."

If the mild rebuke stung him at all, Gin didn't let it show.

"You made me have my first scotch on the rocks when I was 12. Not sure why you'd have issues with me having one now."

Gin then tilted his beverage at the images being shown on the darkened window panels.

"As you and the whole world have been seeing all day, I had quite the busy night. Fighting a great vampire demon is thirsty work."

Nokiba grunted at this flippant comment from his direct male descendant without sparing him a glance.

"Um….thirsty work indeed."

As if on cue, a distant image Gin knew was of himself appeared on the center projection.

"I have it on good authority that you and your friend downstairs, Miyamoto Haiji-san, fought the entire Shuzen Clan by yourselves, and beat them. Impressive."

Gin looked like he was bored out of his mind by this turn of the conversation.

"We did what needed doing, that's all. Master Fuhai fought Issa Shuzen, well, a doppelganger of him anyway, and Tsukune and Moka took care of Shuzen Gyokuro. Haiji and I just cleaned up the rest of them."

Nokiba's tone was low and matter-of-fact.

"Still, it's impressive. You should take credit when you've rightfully earned it."

Gin looked at the images again just in time to see a winged figure standing on a crane facing off against the great vampire demon.

"You have lots of impressive friends."

Gin could feel himself involuntarily tense at this comment. The old man's tones didn't vary much, but the low inflection on the word "friends" he had used just now indicated an unfortunate knowledge about what San meant to Gin personally.

"The Humans see this image and think a girl with wings balancing on a crane is standing there staring down the demon."

Gin could see the old man's keen eyes probing the images before him for clues to hidden meanings.

"They have no idea she's singing an ultra-sonic song that is liquefying the demon's insides."

Nokiba finally swiveled his chair to face his great-grandson directly.

"No, the Humans don't know this…yet, but they will. They will learn more and more about all of us, now that they know we exist, and there is no telling what they will do with that knowledge once they have it."

Gin sent him back a wry smile after he took another sip of scotch.

"Well, Alucard was going to reveal us to the Humans anyway. There was no way around that."

Nokiba thoughtfully nodded agreement.

"True enough."

Nokiba then turned back toward the projections just in time to see another image of Gin flash by.

"Damn, I haven't seen this image yet. Is that from the news cameras?"

Gin finally seemed interested in the conversation now that the humans apparently had an image of himself where facial details could be made out.

"No, this is from the Self Defense Force cameras. In fact, they have very good images of all of you."

Instead of being perturbed further, Gin seemed to relax again.

"I can only imagine how you got our hands on it."

His elder's gruff voice carried well across the room despite his low tone.

"Morioka International has connections all over the world. Not the least of which are within the government and Self Defense Forces. After last night, you of all people should know the value of friends."

Gin's laughter in response to his statement didn't seem to irritate the elder Morioka at all.

"HAHAHA! Oh, Great-grandfather! You of all people know that the government and the military are not our 'friends'."

Nokiba turned to face Gin again with only the slightest hint of a smile in his expression.

"Of course they're not, but they are resources that we can leverage when we need to. They may not be as reliable as your personal friends, but you will learn, they serve their purposes."

An image of Tsukune and Moka, presumably from the same military sources, caught both of their attention.

"As you can tell from the quality of this image, it will only be a matter of time before your friend Aono Tsukune-san is identified by the government. Then he may come to rely upon you, and your connections, to help protect himself from the government's machinations."

For the first time so far in this conversation, Gin looked disgusted. It was one thing for him to be beholden to the scheming old man but there was no way he'd let him get his claws into Tsukune and the others.

"Tsukune and my other friends will always find me ready to help them. As for me relying on 'family' connections to help them, that's a different story altogether."

Nokiba rose from his seat, betraying none of his ninety-plus years, as he moved lithely towards the wet bar, crossing Gin's line of vision.

"Hehe! Independent Ginei. Standing on his own four paws. The lone wolf of Morioka."

Gin looked as if he were pretending not to listen as his elder continued to speak while making himself a straight bourbon.

"I admire your independent streak, and I appreciate that you want to be your own man, but you are part of a family Ginei. A great family that loves you and that also needs you desperately."

Nokiba brought his beverage with him as he chose a seat directly facing his brooding Great-grandson. They both took languid sips of their respective drinks before Nokiba directed his eyes out towards the windows on his left were wisps of smoke from the previous evening's excitements still lingered.

"You know your importance to the family. You know that one day you will be the Alpha. Only you can do this. You are the only male of your generation. If you refuse to step up and assume your proper place in our family everything could fall apart; the clan, Morioka International, everything."

Gin used his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose as he replied in an irritated tone.

"Yeah, I've heard this all my life. I'd like to point out I'm still just eighteen years old and still in high school. Of course, I don't want to start making babies and working a nine to five corporate job."

Nokiba's eyes still focused on the world outside the windows.

"Do you remember me telling you about what I was doing when I was eighteen years old, or even when I was eight?"

Everyone in the family knew the story of how the young werewolf literally pulled himself out of the worst possible situation to build a major economic power in the world.

Gin instantly regretted the heavy sigh of familiarity that escaped his mouth before he could answer.

"Yes Great-grandfather."

Nokiba's expression seemed as if he could see those times from the past as if they were in the here and now with them.

"I didn't have good choices like you do. I didn't get to run around chasing pretty girls and taking pictures of them all day."

Gin had to work hard to keep his frustrations out of his voice.

"I'm aware of this."

Suddenly the old man's head snapped towards Gin and a blazing fire shown in those old but still bright eyes.

"Then you are also aware of what this business means to our family and its very survival. You are aware that now that the Humans know we exist we are in greater danger than ever before, and you are thus also aware of why you are vital, VITAL, to the future of this family. Its very survival depends on YOU!"

Confronted directly in this manner Gin responded as only a werewolf should, with a confrontation of his own.

"YES! I am aware of THIS! It's been drilled into my skull since the day I was born."

Nokiba's eyes returned to the windows as he let his wayward heir vent at him some more.

"I have been well aware that you had MY entire life planned out for me the day my own father was born. That I am a virtual slave to this family and this company you created. That I have no rights to my own life and destiny. YES, I have been well aware of the lifetime of servitude that YOU have planned for me."

Nokiba turned back to look at his furious grandson halfway through Gin's angry words. That he began to smile brightly at him the angrier he got almost made Gin lose his cool completely. Now Nokiba's reply sank the "dagger" of rage deeper into Gin's heart.

"Good my boy, good! You DO understand the life that you, your father, your grandfather, and I have and will continue to live; for this family, for our women, and our children. Yes, we are slaves to our Pack as we are also its masters."

Gin rose to his feet and stomped over to the wet bar to refill his now completely drained glass. This time Nokiba ignored his imbibing. Gin rambled out an agitated response as he repoured his drink.

"And my future son, the one you want to pick out the mother for instead of me, he'll be a slave to his destiny as well?"

Nokiba's voice was mystifyingly pleasant.

"Yes indeed, the survival of our family depends on strong leadership from the top and clear continuity of the genetic lineage."

Gin quickly tossed back his drink and poured another before returning to his seat, still stewing in anger. Nokiba's warm sounding words did nothing to sulk Gin's rage.

"I have lived every day of my life for your grandparents and great aunts, your parents and aunts, your cousins, your sister, and you. It was my destiny. It's your grandfather's destiny after me and your father's after him."

Continuing to listen hatefully, Gin glared back at the strangely happy old man with vitriol showing in his contorted face.

"When the time comes, you will take your place in that line and do your duty for the family. It is the way of things. It's what being Clan Morioka means. It's what being a Werewolf means. Pack first, Pack last, Pack always."

Gin's anger seemed to suddenly peak, then completely dissipate. He turned to look out the windows himself now, at a world that seemed to distance him from itself with every word that slipped out of his elder's mouth. The elder's smile disappeared as he watched his descendant's expression turn to sadness before his eyes. Finally, after an agonizingly long silence, Gin's voice filled the space between them.

"I'm eighteen. I have a term of high school left. Can I not just be young for a little while longer? What would be so wrong with me spending a year or two enjoying my own life? I would make my own money. I wouldn't come looking for handouts. I just want some time to figure out who I really am beyond all of…..this."

Nokiba's trained eyes probed his younger companion's face for a long time. Only after another stretch of seemingly endless silence did his reply reach Gin's ears.

"I see….okay."

Gin's eyes returned to his elder and he began to make his case again.

"I just want a little time to be me, to not have to….."

It was only halfway in that Gin realized Nokiba had made a surprising concession.

"….wait…..did you just?"

Nokiba smirked back at his confused looking descendant.

"Yes, I just told you it was okay."

Gin's mystified expression didn't change as Nokiba continued.

"I realize that your life is different than the one I was forced to live. You have greater opportunities, but that can be daunting in its own way. So I'm willing to work with you."

Gin clearly didn't believe what he was hearing.

"….really?"

It was Nokiba's turn to reply with mock frustration.

"Yes."

As Gin tried to come to terms with his unexpected victory his elder explained the terms of the deal to him.

"So we'll discuss my expectations for you first so there's no confusion. You will, instead of taking a job in the business immediately upon graduating from Yokai Academy, apply to a reputable university and either pursue a technical degree related to our many business lines or a general business degree. I don't care which university, so long as the program you chose has a good reputation.

Gin let out a slight sigh before replying.

"….I see."

He had no real interest in college, but it was a reasonable condition for his elder to set considering what would be expected of Gin in the future.

"You may make your own living arrangements if you like. You already showed me by living in that shack near the woods at Yokai Academy instead of in the dorm room I paid for, that you prefer your own choices in that department."

Gin: was only momentarily surprised Nokiba knew about the shack. The man had connections around the world and was well known to be one of Mikogami-sensei's associates.

"Oh, you know about that, not sure why that surprises me."

Gin had rambled together the shack from loose boards during his first semester mostly because his aggressive attitude made living in the male dorm less than ideal. It wasn't really an act of defiance against anyone but Nokiba may have seen it that way when he learned of it. For his part, Nokiba didn't spare the shack another word.

"Upon obtaining your degree, you will assume a position within the company, of my choosing, immediately. These are my terms on the business side. Are they acceptable to you?

Gin knew that his Great-grandfather wasn't asking a question but giving a command. Still, Gin had to offer resistance of some form for form's sake if nothing else.

"Well…I'm not sure I'm the college 'type' but I'll do it. Anything's better than being tied to a desk for the next four years."

Nokiba's smirk indicated his descendant's despondent expression was amusing for him.

"In exchange for accepting my terms, I will allow you to take the next two years off to do whatever you like. You can report to the university of your choice for the Summer classes in 2 years' time from your Yokai Academy graduation date."

This offer stunned Gin.

"Are you being serious? This isn't a joke?"

Two MORE years? Two FREE years, with no obligations but to himself alone? It was too good to be true.

"Yes, I'm being sincere. Provided, of course, that you pay your own way and find your own lodgings these next two years. I think actually holding a job where you have to get your hands dirty and paying your own bills will be a valuable lesson for you."

Gin still couldn't fathom the offer.

"Two years? Really? You're going to let me do whatever I want for two whole years and then I'll have to go to college? What's the catch? You made dad and grandpa work full time and get their degrees in their spare time. Why the sudden soft-paw treatment with me?"

Gin knew he shouldn't question it, and perhaps risk losing the offer altogether, but he just knew something sinister had to lie behind it all.

"Well, honestly neither of them were anywhere near as defiant as you. I honestly want to see where your independent streak takes you, and what you actually do with the freedom you want so badly."

"Oh! I get it now."

Gin's smirk showed a high degree of sarcasm behind it.

"It's an experiment. You want to see if I'll sink or swim on my own."

Instead of angering him, Nokiba seemed to give his answer serious thought.

"No, not exactly. You see I don't want to see you fail, but what I do want is for you to see if you can succeed or fail on your own. Either way, our family will win. Either you will come home with your tail between your legs and ready to do what I tell you to; or you'll come back with the confidence of a conquering hero, ready to assume a leadership role in our house."

Instead of pleasing him the response made Gin scowl at the old man in anger.

"Don't put your money on the former situation happening. I'd stay on the streets rather than come back here whipped."

Gin's defiance made the old man crack a knowing smile.

"There are still plenty of things in this world you do not understand. One of which is clearly your importance to all of us. If you ran away to the far ends of the Earth, I would spare no expense to track you down. If you slept on a park bench at night, I'd have you washed and cleaned and ready to work the next morning. There is no end to what we, the members of this family, owe to each other. None of us are allowed to escape that obligation. Ever."

Gin sulked for a moment before his expression became a bit sly.

"Speaking of family obligations, am I going to be presented with additional choices in that regard as well? Seems you've let Akaio off the hook in that department. Am I not entitled to the same considerations as her?"

Nokiba's left eyebrow rose up his forehead as a smirk creased his wrinkled face.

"You misunderstand your sister's situation. She has chosen to do EXACTLY what I want her to do within the family."

Gin's expression indicated his confusion.

"You DON'T want her to get married and have kids?"

Nokiba's smiling face turned to look out the windows again. After he sipped at his bourbon he replied in an even tone.

"She'll have children, and in this family, there are all kinds of obligations we have to each other. She's already chosen the father of her children; he needs only do his duty to her and the family."

Nokiba's eyes cut back towards Gin with the last part of his statement. Gin's own expression indicated the intended "blow" had been successfully landed.

"The twins are now fifteen as well. They'll be at dinner tonight with their mother and little sister. I'm told that when the girls learned you were on your way home they became quite eager to see their beloved Gin-Gin-kun. Seems you've been greatly missed."

Gin's own eyes now looked away despondently.

"You seem…unhappy at the prospect of seeing your cousins. Something wrong?"

Gin's eyes flashed back at his elder in anger.

"You know damn well they aren't my cousins. I know Dad is their father as well."

Nokiba spared Gin a sympathetic expression that didn't seem to match his words.

"And that has what to do with your lack of enthusiasm for seeing them? Seems you spent too much time around non-Werewolves. You're starting to pick up their Human inspired taboos. We are Lycan Gin; we don't have the one-dimensional family relationships they do. Need I remind you that your father and mother are also…."

"NO!...You don't need to remind me."

His voice sounded angry and desperate at the same time. The expression of turmoil on his face was painful even for Nokiba to see.

"Well, you have at least two 'free' years before we need to look at your personal family situation. There's no need to get frustrated about it now."

Gin's eyes returned with even more anger flashing in them.

"All this…because of that damn Moon Caller myth?"

Nokiba's own expression instantly hardened in response.

"It's not just because of the potential of the Moon Caller, but to keep our wolf's blood strong. There are nine surviving Werewolf clans in this world and we're the only one in all of Asia. Your sister rejected the potential candidates from the other clans that we are on speaking terms with. She made up her mind a long time ago, as have your other sisters. You are the only one who seems confused about his duty."

Nokiba stood then, glass in hand, and walked over to the windows past the front of his desk.

"What Akaio has chosen is what is best for the family. It just so happens that it matches her personal wishes as well. If the result leads to our clan one day yielding up the Moon Caller….."

Gin cut him off with a bitter sounding retort.

"There's a better chance that Humans will welcome Yokai as brothers tomorrow than there ever will be for a Werewolf who has the power to control the moon."

Nokiba smirked over his shoulder at his agitated great-grandson.

"I'll make you another deal. If the Moon Caller comes before you graduate college in six years, then you can marry whoever you want."

Gin snorted in derision at this "generous" offer.

"Since there's no such thing as a Moon Caller, and never will be, you're not really risking much are you?"

Nokiba shrugged with a look like he knew something Gin didn't, that only irritated the younger werewolf even more. A few silent moments later and Gin rose to his feet to stand on Nokiba's left side as they both looked down on Osaka's business district.

"Do you love her?"

The old man's question was delivered so smoothly it took Gin a moment to realize what he had asked.

"Of course I love her, she's my sister!"

His tone was angry, but Nokiba only mildly laughed before correcting the younger man's erroneous assumption.

"I'm talking about your sempai, the Siren Otonashi San."

Gin looked suddenly very uncomfortable.

"I can smell her on you. I know what she means to you as well. I know Miyamoto-san and you attacked a Fair Tale headquarters because of them messing with her."

The old man seemed to know everything about Gin's life up to and including recent events. Gin seriously began to think his "ancestor" had him under constant surveillance. It was exactly the kind of thing Morioka Nokiba would do to "protect" his family.

"It's a simple question, do you love her?"

They turned to look at each other before Gin drew up the courage to finally answer him.

"Yes…..I love her."

Nokiba's eyes widened, then he slowly turned his eyes back on the world below them.

"I see….you may find this hard to believe but I know what it is like to be in love with a woman who…might not be able to cope with the hardships of Lycan existence."

For the first time in this conversation, Gin looked at the irritating old man with sympathy. His Great-grandmother wasn't a normal topic of conversation for these two but Gin spoke up boldly none the less.

"Great-grandmother died in childbirth, giving birth to her third Werewolf child; and she was a simple Human. She had no proper medical attention because of the post-war situation. She would have lived if it weren't for situations beyond her and your own control. She didn't die because she was Human and Great Aunt was a Werewolf baby."

Nokiba nodded thoughtfully with a laden look on his weathered features.

"Yes, you are right; she didn't die because she was Human. She died because I failed her. Because to save her life I would have had to reveal to Human doctors what I and my children were. Because I didn't plan far enough ahead to get a Yokai doctor ready."

Gin looked away as he responded with some sympathy for the old man.

"San's a Yokai, not a Human; and a particularly powerful one too. We now have all the resources and modern technology at our fingertips. There's no reason to believe a non-Werewolf would be unable to bare a Werewolf child successfully."

Nokiba nodded thoughtfully again.

"You're right again. There is no reason they couldn't bare our children. However, unlike female Werewolves and Human women, there's no telling what the child would be with another Yokai species. It could be a Werewolf, or a Siren, or anywhere in-between."

Gin's expression hardened before he replied.

"And what exactly would be wrong with a Hybrid or Siren child?"

"Nothing."

He turned surprisingly kind eyes onto Gin.

"As long as we could guarantee a fully Werewolf male to be your heir. A Werewolf Clan must be led by a Werewolf."

They both turned back to the view of Greater Osaka area before them before Nokiba spoke once more.

"The next two years belong to you exclusively. Do what you want with them. If you can maintain your relationship with the Siren through college then I will bless your marriage."

This offer floored Gin.

"Wh…..WHAT?"

Nokiba looked back at him with a serious expression.

"That in no way is to be misconstrued as an excuse not to fulfill your obligations to this family, and you will begin participating again in family activities. I left you alone for high school, but you will be expected to come to family events from now on. Tonight I expect you to be excited to see your 'cousins' as well. They love you and deserve nothing less from you. Is that understood?"

Gin, still shocked, nodded listlessly as he replied.

"…..Yes….I understand."

Then Gin's expression hardened once again.

"Basically you're sabotaging any chance I have to be with San before I even get started?"

He heard the old man sigh as he turned back towards the wet bar to refill his own drink now.

"Well….that's really going to depend on her and how she reacts to us as a family. You'll find in the future as you assume more responsibilities within our family that the obligations only increase. If you want her to be a part of this family, she'll have to accept a lot of things non-Werewolf females aren't used to and required to accept from their males.

Gin turned an almost disgusted look onto Nokiba's back as his elder poured more bourbon in his glass.

"Better you find out beforehand if she can't take the burdens of being in this family, then find out too late. You don't want to become a sad old man like me, do you? Dreaming of a woman he can never hold again?"

Gin turned his eyes back out onto the world with a forlorn expression he didn't want to share with this old man that played him and everyone else in this family like puppets.

"Hell, it's not like we're even dating yet, if at all."

Nokiba didn't even need to turn around to look at him to know Gin was giving him unfounded bluster. With the trained ear of an experienced businessman, he knew from the tremor in the voice that his great-grandson's words were just him trying to save face.

"Well, I suspect you'll settle that issue to your own satisfaction soon enough."

Nokiba took his drink back to his chair and returned his eyes to the displayed images again.

"Your sister is undoubtedly excitedly expecting you down in the residence baths. Remember to put on your best face for dinner tonight. I'll see you then."

Gin stalked angrily back to the wet bar and noisily placed his glass back on the tray after draining its contents.

Only after he heard the door latch close did the elder Morioka allow himself a moment to decompress after the trying discussion with his frustrated Great-grandson.

 _"I wish it could be different for you my boy, but we are Werewolf. The sooner you accept reality the better off we'll all be."_


	9. Short Day VII

Ruby was helping Mizore wash up after lunch as Kurumu, having just prepared the meal sat opposite Moka, who was sitting on the bay window seat with a contented looking Yukari beside her.

As if on cue, Yukari accidentally belched then, and then sheepishly spoke up.

"Well, say what you want about Kurumu, but she sure can whip up a decent meal out of scraps of nothing."

Kurumu gave her a suspicious smirk.

"Um…thanks, I think?"

In the living room, they could hear Tsukune and Kokoa arguing over the television.

"Turn the channel already! I want to see what channels we have."

"I'm looking for highlights from the baseball game yesterday, so you can wait a minute."

"I'm sure any team you pull for sucks anyway. I want to watch something else!"

Moka let out a rather disappointed sounding sigh as she watched the two people she loved most bicker over the remote control.

"I can see THAT becoming an issue."

Mizore also looked on the squabbling pair as she placed dried dishware back up in the cabinet above the range top.

"It's not like there aren't three other TVs in this house."

Ruby, finished now with washing the dishes, handed the last one to Mizore to dry and spoke up as she dried off her hands.

"The meal was excellent Kurumu-chan."

This elicited a smiling head nod from the addressee, which contained enough self-confident arrogance to make the silver-haired beauty across from her curl her lip up in mild contempt.

Ruby then reminded them of the now completely bare state of their supplies.

"Well, now that we're all full, we need to refill our shelves as well. I'm not sure we have enough left for dinner tonight."

Kurumu confirmed Ruby's assessment.

"We definitely don't have enough food for dinner tonight. Not for seven people."

Moka crossed her arms and stared across the table with an irritated expression.

"And where exactly will we be getting this food from? There's still a week of school break left. The school store is closed."

Beside her, Yukari suddenly seemed to have what to her was an exciting idea.

"Well, the Chairman of Yokai Academy is watching TV on the couch over there. He just happens to have a key to the school store."

Ruby, who had just retaken her seat at the far end head of the table beside Yukari, sent her fellow witch a worried look.

"I'm…not sure that would be appropriate. Plus if anyone found us there we'd need to answer some rather uncomfortable questions."

Mizore now also retook her own seat between Kurumu and Ruby as Kurumu responded.

"Plus most of the stuff in the school store is instant food or microwave stuff. We actually need to stock these shelves with real food and lots of it. We also need spices, herbs, personal items. All kinds of stuff we'd only get at a real store."

"Ruby, where did you get the food that you've been eating here?"

Like during the tour earlier, Ruby seemed embarrassed to answer Mizore's seemingly innocuous question.

"Well…..you see I…I usually eat breakfast and lunch in the school cafeteria. As for dinner stuff, I usually brought home leftovers from the cafeteria."

Oblivious to her elder friend's discomfort, Yukari excitedly piped up again with another idea.

"HEY! We can get what we need from the school cafeteria or even the home-economics class!"

Kurumu and Moka both sent her back angry expressions.

"When did you turn into such a thief?"

Yukari flared back angrily at Kurumu's accusation.

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A THIEF?"

"The person suggesting we go and take what we want from the school, that's who."

Before this latest row could escalate further Ruby put a calming hand on Yukari's shoulder.

"That would be as inappropriate as opening the school store, I'm afraid."

"Is there a store in the Teacher's Village?"

Ruby shook her head back as she answered Mizore.

"No, they either get stuff from the school store or vending machines. I think most of them get Bus Driver to take them to the Human world to do most of their shopping."

Moka's eyebrow rose up her forehead slightly when she heard this.

"Well then, that's what we'll have to do. We need to go to a Human store."

Finally, Kurumu found something she and Moka agreed on other than their mutual devotion to Tsukune.

"So we just need to make a shopping list and call up Bus Driver to take us."

"We don't need Bus Driver to take us."

Tsukune had walked up into the conversation. Apparently, Kokoa had worn him down into giving her control of the remote.

"After all, we have a car."

To emphasize his point he held out the golden key in front of him.

Yukari however, seemed skeptical.

"That's true enough, but have you ever driven a car before Tsukune-kun?"

Tsukune answered her with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Um…well. Dad's let me drive the family car before…in parking lots."

Moka twisted her lips in frustration before venting out loud.

"Not sure what good Tsukune having a car is if neither he nor any of the rest of us have a driver's license. The last thing we need right now is for him to be arrested for not having a license."

Ruby seemed to have suddenly remembered something important and spoke as she rose from her seat and walked past Tsukune back into the kitchen.

"Well…..just maybe…"

As everyone watched her she opened the first drawer beside the range top and pulled out a large manila folder.

"Yup, that's what I thought."

"What?"

Ruby smiled as she handed Tsukune the folder and he saw his name on it.

"Chairman Mikogami always used this drawer when he wanted to give me something, but didn't have time to give it to me himself. I check it daily. Even the mail gets in the drawer by some form of magic I have yet to determine."

She moved up so she could look over his shoulder as he opened the file.

"Oh, there's a note here."

"What does it say?"

Tsukune shot Yukari back a smile before reading the note out loud so they all could hear.

["Tsukune-san, thanks for taking on the job. I suspect you already know it's a lot more than being just Academy Chairman. When in doubt, turn to Bus Driver, Nekonome-Sensei, and Ruby-chan. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer and never doubt your gut feelings. Enjoy the car and the house and remember to look in all the drawers and read all my books; you never know what you'll find that will be helpful. Thanks for everything. Sincerely, Mikogami Tenmei, founder, Yokai Academy."]

Everyone was surprised when Ruby began to sob and took out a handkerchief to collect her tears.

"What's wrong Ruby?"

"Are you OK?"

Despite her tears, Ruby flashed a small but reassuring smile at her worried friends.

"Yes, it's just…"

She choked up then but managed to continue on.

"…..he called me Ruby-chan. He had only ever addressed me as Ruby-san before now."

Tsukune put his arm around her and smiled as he hugged her before he refocused on the folder. He sat down at the near end of the table and Moka and Yukari slid over so Ruby could sit beside them on the bench. As he began to look at the folder contents Yukari asked for details.

"So what goodies did the Chairman leave you Tsukune?"

Tsukune, with a rather surprised look on his face, held up what looked like a credit card.

"Well…..it's a bank card, I think."

Ruby seemed to recognize it immediately.

"Oh! That's your ATM card for your direct deposits. It can also be used as a debit card."

Tsukune sent her a questioning look.

"Um…..from my student account? My parents give me a little every pay period but I've never needed a bank card for it before, just my student ID card."

Ruby blushed a little under his gaze and answered him in a small voice.

"Um….no, I'd imagine that account will be tied to your salary."

Tsukune's eyes grew noticeably wider now.

"My….WHAT?"

Everyone's eyes grew wider with his as well.

"His WHAT?"

Ruby picked out the piece of paper the card had been attached to and handed it to Tsukune.

"I think this will explain it."

Tsukune began reading it out loud for everyone to hear.

["You'll be receiving an income as Chairman of Yokai Academy. While you're still a student you'll directly receive 40% of the income deposited once a month into the bank account I created for you. The rest of your income will be deposited into your investment account. Once you graduate and Bus Driver has publically declared you my successor, you'll have access to the full amount. This particular bank has a history of dealing with Yokai clients, and I have provided you with detailed information in this bundle packet. The card above this note is your bank card. It changes names to prevent you from being identified by those you don't want to know who you are. There's a driver's license included that changes names and addresses too. I have it on good authority that you have completed most of the driver's education you'd need to obtain an actual driver's license, but given your new circumstances, I'd advise against adding additional evidence of your existence for Human authorities to track you down with. Ruby-chan can show you how to change the info when you need to. The rest of the info in this packet operates much the same way. Mikogami."]

Tsukune picked up another card that was apparently his new driver's license.

"It's the picture from my student ID. This looks like a real license too."

"That's because it is a real license."

Tsukune sent Ruby back a surprised look as Kurumu spoke up from his other side.

"That's Tsukune's name and his parent's address. That might not be what we want a police officer to see."

Ruby tapped the note Tsukune just read as she addressed Kurumu's concern.

"Like the Chairman said in his note, the bank card and license info changes depending on the circumstances. Tsukune, hold the license in your hand and think of a common man's name."

"Um…OK."

Tsukune held the license up and looked at it as he tried to come up with some believable yet common sounding name.

 _"Um… Nakamura Jiro?"_

Suddenly the Kangi and Hiragana on the license blurred and rearranged to form the name of one Nakamura Jiro, who just happened to appear to live in Sendai. It was still Tsukune's picture on the license but all the other info on the card now lined up with someone else who just happened to be named Nakamura Jiro.

"Well, that's a useful thing to have."

Kurumu agreed with Moka's assessment.

"No doubt!"

Mizore leaned over Kurumu's shoulder to get a better look.

"So, who's Nakamura Jiro from…Sendai?"

Ruby smirked a bit as she responded.

"I suspect he was the person with that name that's closest in age to our Tsukune-kun."

"But we're nowhere near Sendai."

Ruby shrugged with a sheepish smile as she responded to Yukari.

"Well that's kind of the point, isn't it? The chances of anyone nearby who sees Tsukune-kun's license or card knowing Nakamura Jiro from Sendai is significantly low."

Yukari grinned as the point hit home with her.

"Oh! I see! So he needs to pick common names to throw a wider net and get more chances, and then the magic in the card will pick one of appropriate age from far enough away where no one should know who he is."

Ruby nodded confirmation to her younger fellow witch.

"Precisely!"

She then looked back at Tsukune.

"Have you looked at the bank card since you changed the license?"

"No, let me see…"

Everyone was surprised yet again to see the info on the bank card lined up perfectly with what was now on the driver's license.

"So the card changed too?"

Ruby answered Kurumu's question.

"Yes, they are tied together. I'd be willing to bet the license plates on the car are also changing to match the appropriate name as well."

Kurumu then seemed to ponder something seriously before giving voice to her thoughts.

"So does that mean Tsukune-kun has some money to pay for the food?"

Tsukune brightened up a bit at this comment.

"Yeah….have I made anything yet?"

Moka looked concerned as she re-crossed her arms again over her bust.

"We haven't exactly figured out how we'll pay yet."

"That's no problem! I can pay for it."

Everyone was stunned by Ruby's generous offer. Moka spoke up with some concern in her voice.

"That's generous of you Ruby but also unfair to you. We should all share in paying for food."

Ruby wasn't deterred by this argument in the least.

"It's alright, I have a nice income from my job at the Academy and have pretty much been saving all of it since I've been living here rent free and eating at the school. I'll be happy to pay for it this time."

Yukari looked across Moka to Ruby with a perplexed expression

"Wait! I thought you were a volunteer at the Academy or something like that?"

Ruby responded with another blush and her old and familiar words came out.

"Well you see…..it's a long story….."

"Yeah….that's OK…."

"We're good."

"It's really none of our business."

Ruby began to pout that no one wanted to hear her long story but Moka gave her a reassuring pat on her forearm as Tsukune spoke up.

"With all you did around the Academy it's just a relief to know you were getting paid for it."

Ruby was happy to hear that from the man she loved, but still a little upset they had cut her off from explaining further.

"But….my story…"

Moka effortlessly ignored Ruby's whimper and began forging ahead with organizing the rest of the afternoon's events.

"It's already well past mid-afternoon. We need to get moving on this. We also need to go move our stuff out of our dorm rooms and bring it back here. We'll need the car for both tasks. We need to make a shopping list. Kurumu, since you think you'll be doing most of the cooking you can start the list."

"I can start the list!"

Yukari broke out her wand and the star on top glowed and quill pen and parchment paper materialized before her on the table.

"Actually, you guys who aren't going to the store should put what you want down first. I can add the main foodstuff to the list while we're on our way to the store."

Moka scowled back at Kurumu with her red eyes glowing once more.

"What makes YOU think you're going to the store and not helping pack up that pig sty of yours?"

Kurumu sent Moka back a vicious sneer.

"Don't be silly! Of course, I'm going. A chef always picks out the ingredients!"

They could all hear Moka's jaw pop as she bit off her reply words in a low growl.

"I don't remember anyone say YOU were going to own the kitchen!"

Kurumu's smirking response was vicious.

"Well, we sure aren't going to let YOU cook! We'd all be dead by this evening!"

"LADIES PLEASE!"

Once again it was Ruby playing peacemaker. She gave the irritated Moka a sympathetic smile as Kurumu continued to smirk across the table at her.

"Honestly, Kurumu is probably the best at cooking in the house and should be the one to go to the store, at least for the first time. You, on the other hand, would be better at organizing getting everyone's stuff from the dorms back to here."

Moka directed her angry gaze to her side at Ruby then, making the witch flinch a little.

"In other words, I'm best at herding cats?"

Ruby ignored this bitter if all too correct assessment that Moka would be best at intimidating the others into actually achieving the goal of moving their belongings back to the house.

"Tsukune and I will go with Kurumu to the store since he's driving and I'm paying and have all my personal items already here. Then we'll drop the food off and come by the dorms to pick up everything."

Moka refocused her glaring red eyes on Kurumu, and then reluctantly agreed.

"….fine…"

Tsukune could just see the slight increase in her smirk and glee in her eyes as Kurumu wordlessly celebrated her victory.

 _"That's not nice Kuru-chan."_

Suddenly she looked at Tsukune with concern in her eyes before just as rapidly turning away.

"But why can't WE go to the store too?"

Moka now directed her angry glare in the other direction at the now pouting Yukari and Mizore.

"Are Kokoa and I supposed to pack up all your stuff too in addition to Tsukune's and Kurumu's?"

A distant but irritated voice reached them from the living room.

"What? What am I doing?"

Ruby ignored Kokoa's late entry into the conversation and directed her attention to the two pouting ladies at the other end of the table.

"Honestly, the three of us will be more than capable of getting the stuff at the store on our own."

Suddenly Moka's hand stretched out towards Kurumu, who flinched as if she were about to be struck down. She wasn't the only one to think so either. Everyone but Moka at the table had a natural defensive reaction to her sudden movement.

Seeing Kurumu flinch away from her brought a sudden satisfied smirk to Moka's face.

 _"That's not nice either Moka-san."_

Moka's hand was outstretched, palm up, towards the still apprehensive Kurumu.

"Well, now that that is settled, you two give me your dorm room keys and we'll pack up your stuff while you're at the store."

Kurumu, with an angry scowl, dug into her shorts pocket and pulled out a plain looking key chain, and after removing a key from it, slapped it down into Moka's hand with some force, which only made the much stronger shinso vampire grin back at her even more.

Then Moka's eyes softened as she moved her palm towards Tsukune direction.

"Well…um, you see….I"

Moka cocked an inquisitive eye at the oddly prevaricating Tsukune, who looked like she had just asked him for his mother's bra size. Suddenly Mizore was on her feet and around Kurumu to put her lips on Tsukune's right ear, much to the annoyance of the other women at the table. Cooling sucker now in her hand, her cold breath tickled his ear lobe and neck as she whispered to him.

"Got things in that room you don't want us girls to see? Don't worry, I've already seen it all. I'll make sure no one sees anything they shouldn't there though."

Tsukune knew it shouldn't have shocked him, given she was admittedly his personal stalker, but the fact she had rummaged through his dorm room, especially through certain items a young man wouldn't want a young woman he…..admired, to ever see, still made him blush profusely.

His blushing, of course, set off a chain reaction of more intensified anger being aimed over his right ear to Mizore from four sets of eyes.

He whispered back a rather stupid question she had already just provided the answer to.

"You've been in my room?"

Mizore let out a seductive little giggle before answering again.

"Oh Tsukune-kun, I've been in there numerous times. I'm always with you, wherever you go. And some of that stuff in your...special items, you just let me know and we can try them whenever you like."

Mizore twirled his hair with her finger as he looked straight ahead in terror and embarrassment. It was one thing for her to see certain items he'd rather she not see but had she watched him while he was...?

Only now did he also seem to realize Mizore's life might also be in danger as four sets of glowing hot coals were aimed in her direction. He quickly dug into his pants pocket and pulled out his entire key chain, which Mizore quickly took from him.

Moka now aimed her furious eyes at him for his apparent act of betrayal. For some reason though Kurumu turned away from him while blushing strangely.

"Um…."

Before he could try to find the words to defend himself before the angry glare of the beautiful vampire, Mizore stood up behind him and placed her cool hands on his shoulders.

"Don't worry, we'll pack Tsukune's room together Moka."

These words didn't seem to placate Moka either as she temporarily focused her anger upwards before glaring back down at Tsukune once again.

Mizore then walked away from Tsukune and back to her seat but not before whispering to him once more.

"But not till I've sanitized it for her viewing safety. No worries, my love."

Despite everything, her words were reassuring to him. He worked hard to suppress a sigh of relief. It was one thing for Mizore to see his…..stuff, she was..."openminded", but Moka?

 _"No, I'd rather die first."_

This time when he looked up it was Kurumu scowling at him though.

For her part, Moka's anger followed Mizore back to her seat.

"Um….KOKOA!"

Her sister popped her head up from behind the couch again to reply.

"Yes, Onee-sama?"

"Turn the TV off and get in here. You need to add what you need from the store to the list and get ready to head to the dorms."

"AWE! Do we have to do that TODAY?"

Yukari gave a teasing response to Kokoa's whiny question.

"Not if you don't mind wearing the same clothes you've had on for the last few days."

Kokoa very reluctantly stalked into the kitchen and plopped down in the chair at the other end of the table from Tsukune. She then plucked the quill pen, which had been magically writing by itself in mid-air, out of the air, making Yukari scowl like she was an ignorant barbarian.

As she forcefully scratched out her personal needs on the parchment paper, Moka began to speak again with only slightly less irritation than before.

"Like Ruby said, once you guys have brought the food back and put it up, swing by the dorms and we'll start moving our stuff back here."

Kokoa then slid the parchment and quill pen toward her sister.

"Your turn Onee-sama."

Moka nodded towards her sister and picked up the parchment to read what the other three had already written down so she didn't duplicate it herself.

Whatever Mizore, Yukari, and her own imouto had written down on that parchment made her eyes go instantly wide. She then looked up nervously at a thoroughly confused Tsukune before flushing bright red and nearly hiding behind the parchment from him.

"Ruby, can you take a look at this?"

From Moka's right side Ruby leaned in to look at the list.

"Sure thing."

When she was close enough Moka whispered directly into Ruby's ear.

"We're not letting Tsukune see this list, correct?"

Ruby responded in a low tone with curiosity in her voice.

"Um, well…..why not?"

Moka pointed down at an item on the list as Ruby's eyes began to widen with understanding.

"I'm going to need to write that same item down for myself as well, I'd rather he didn't see that in my handwriting."

Ruby sent the still concerned looking Tsukune a brief glance and smile before whispering back to her.

"I think, eventually, six out of seven of us are going to need those types of items regularly. I can write down what he needs while he's driving but once we're in the store….well I just don't know how to keep him from seeing us buy those things."

Moka was beginning to become agitated.

"Can't you just put a sleeping spell on him and let him take a nap in the car while you two do the actual shopping?"

Moka began to scratch out what she needed with her left arm covering the paper so that Tsukune couldn't see her words, while Ruby sent him and the others another reassuring smile.

"I'd rather not do something like that if I don't have to. He might not realize I've done it but….."

"Yeah, I understand. Still, maybe send him to go look at magazines or something when you two head to THAT particular aisle?"

Ruby whispered back to her in a compromising tone.

"He does have a mother and a female cousin he's close to, I'm sure he….."

The look of utter terror on Moka's face now forced Ruby to redirect and concede to her wishes.

"Right, I'll think of something."

Moka only then, still somewhat reluctantly, handed over the list, rolled up tightly so the only male eyes in the room couldn't possibly read it.

"Then I leave this in your capable hands."

Moka then sent everyone sitting to her left a determined expression.

"Alright you three, let's get moving. The sooner we pack up our dorm rooms the sooner we're done."

Yukari and Kokoa groaned at the prospect of all that work, but Mizore had a glint in her eyes that reminded Moka she was angry at her…..and Tsukune. She planned to keep a close eye on the snow woman while they were packing Tsukune's room.

She then looked over across the table to see Kurumu smiling with obvious love and adoration at Tsukune.

 _"I'll fix you too, you bat-winged harpy."_

Ruby's words broke her out of her darker thoughts just then.

"Actually, I think you guys should let us drop you off. There are some cool things about the car none of you have seen yet."

They all stood up to go, Tsukune finally looking happy for the first time in a little while.

"As much as I love having a '64 Continental, we're going to draw a lot of attention driving down the streets in that car."

Ruby giggled at his words before replying.

"Don't worry. I'll show you a way around that problem."

* * *

Everyone but Tsukune and Ruby had gathered under the front porch to view the Continental as it exited the garage. Even under the shade of the overhang, the August afternoon heat had become unbearable.

"Can we hurry this up? I'm melting over here."

Kokoa complained as she used a folding fan from the entry foyer to try to waft away sweat beads forming at her hairline.

She wasn't the only one looking like they might melt.

"We really don't have all day for this."

Moka was also using a folding fan to ward off the humidity.

As they were standing in the back, no one else seemed to notice that Kurumu was practically holding Mizore's arm. Mizore was subtly using her abilities to cool the air immediately around her and Kurumu knew enough to get inside this cooler air bubble with her.

"Here they come!"

Yukari pointed as the middle of the three garage doors activated and began to open up.

Slowly a shiny black looking car with the relative aerodynamic features of a brick rolled out into the dazzling sunlight. More than one girl looked very unhappy to see Ruby leaning in far too close to the very happy looking driver as she explained something with a beaming smile on her face.

The vehicle pulled out almost parallel with the front porch and the automatic garage door began to close behind it. As the vehicle came to park the ladies on the porch descended from the solar safety of the overhang to brave the harsh glare of the sun directly.

Out of nowhere, Mizore produced a parasol to protect her alabaster skin.

At the same time, Ruby exited the left side of the car.

"The paint job looks a lot better in the sunlight, don't you think?"

She was right, it was brilliant. Only now could you see the polished chrome in all its glory or see that the car was actually a super dark shade of blue and not black.

From Tsukune's side of the car, Mizore leaned over it with the parasol aimed above her directly at the sun.

"Is that metallic flakes in the paint?"

Even Kokoa finally seemed impressed for once.

"It's a nice shade of black and the flakes make it sparkle."

"Are you colorblind as well as irritating?"

Before a fight could develop with the condescending succubus Kokoa's elder sister spoke up.

"That's not black Kokoa, look again. When the sun hits it right you can see its really dark blue."

Ruby ran her fingers lightly over the front fender before the sun could heat it up.

"That's right, the Chairman said it's called Midnight Blue with silver metallic flake."

Kurumu smiled down at her reflection in the near glass-like surface.

"It's like the night sky. I can't wait for Tsukune-kun to take me on a ride...alone."

To everyone's surprise, including Kurumu, this brazen comment only elicited an eye roll from Moka.

"That's not what I wanted to show you guys though. Tsukune, hit the first button I showed you!"

From behind the driver's seat, Tsukune answered Ruby's request.

"Okay!"

The odd sound and suddenly blurring features made them all step back a pace with surprise on their faces. They all also had become used to taking a defensive posture in such situations.

Though their fears soon subsided, their stunned expressions did not.

"Well…it truly is a magical vehicle!"

Kokoa agreed with Yukari's dramatic assessment.

"You got THAT right!"

Before them now where just seconds before the classic American car had been, now sat a dark gray modern Japanese sedan.

"WHOA! That was intense!"

Tsukune, who had remained in the vehicle, looked a bit dazed as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Ruby moved to quickly explain what had just happened.

"The Chairman equipped this car with three alternate modes. A late model sedan, a hilux, and a minivan. There's three buttons right where the rearview mirror is mounted. When Tsukune presses another one….."

Tsukune did so, much slower this time, and after blurring out again a dark green minivan replaced the sedan that he had been sitting in moments before.

Ruby walked up to Tsukune's window and exchanged an approving smile with him.

"WOW!"

Everyone seemed duly impressed.

"Anytime we go to the Human world we'll most likely chose one of these three more common vehicle types."

Tsukune followed up Ruby's coments.

"I'd love to show you guys the hilux, but it's a bit stomach-turning to go through the transformations."

Ruby looked on him with concern as she placed a loving hand on his forearm, which was draped on the open window frame.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot that it's a lot like passing through the Chairman's Barrier. I'm sorry Tsukune-kun."

He used his free hand to pat her hand rather tenderly.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm already feeling better."

Kokoa was smirking as Yukari seemed concerned. The all too friendly display these two were putting on was drawing a lot of ire from the other three women present.

Yukari was even wondering if she should intervene on Ruby's behalf to prevent a pending fight.

 _"OH! That's no good Ruby-chan!"_

To their obvious surprise, Yukari indeed popped up between Ruby and the car just seconds later.

"So what happens if all seven of us are in the minivan and we transform into the hilux?"

Ruby, oblivious to the danger she had just been in, quickly answered her question.

"Oh! Well, I really don't know. I think I'd recommend everyone get out before we tried such a thing."

Everyone's eyes were then drawn to Moka, who was moving across the front of the minivan.

"We can experiment with that another time. Daylight is burning. Let's get a move on."

Kurumu had quickly reached the conclusion that Moka planned to take the front passenger seat beside Tsukune and literaly flew across the hood of the car to block her. The result were two very angry beauties staring each other down with their hands on the door handle.

"I should ride in the front since we're just dropping you off!"

Moka smirked back viciously at Kurumu.

"That's a silly reason, you can stay in the back after Tsukune drops me off!"

"Why would I do something like that?"

Their personal war distracted them long enough to not realize Ruby had used the sliding door on the driver's side to enter the vehicle and take the seat they had both been after. They looked down at her smiling face with a mixture of stunned rage showing, which didn't deter Ruby in the least.

"Kurumu's right, it makes more sense for you to ride in the back Moka since we're dropping you off. Kurumu, you can ride in the front on the way back from the store and Moka can have the front seat on the outbound part of our next trip together. We'll all take turns."

The minivan had three rows of seating and the other three ladies were already inside. Yukari had moved to the back row by herself while Mizore and Kokoa took the middle row seats. As her very perturbed looking sister entered the vehicle, Kokoa realized the meaning behind the expression she just received and retreated to the back row.

Attempting the same maneuver with Mizore did not yield similar results for Kurumu though, who reluctantly joined the younger vampire and witch in the back.

Ruby looked back to address them all again.

"Everyone buckled in and ready for our first car trip as a family?"

With varying degrees of enthusiasm, she received affirmative answers from the back.

She then smiled and nodded to their driver.

"We're all ready."

Tsukune smiled back with joy on his face.

"OK, here we go…"

Again these two seemed oblivious to the angry glares directed towards them from the back.

The minivan pulled off the paved driveway and onto the dirt road taking a right in the direct direction that led to Yokai Academy.

* * *

A little while later the green minivan, now with four fewer passengers, was heading down a nearly deserted city street in the human world. From behind the two front passengers, Kurumu was writing on the grocery list with the quill pen.

"Well, I think that's everything we'll need for the next few days. If there's anything extra I'm sure it will catch my eye when we pass it in the store."

Ruby turned her head back over her right shoulder to talk to her as Tsukune continued to focus on the road ahead. It was his first time driving on human world roads, so he was being extra cautious for that reason, along with many other more recent reasons.

"With a list that long I'm sure we won't be skipping any aisles in the store."

Kurumu directed her eyes at Tsukune's partial image in the rearview mirror.

"You sure this is all you need Tsukune; it looks a little thin compared to everyone else's personal list?"

Tsukune answered her after exchanging a glance back in the mirror.

"I'm pretty sure. I went by the school store a few days before we left for Hong Kong and I obviously didn't use any of the stuff I didn't take with me. Pretty sure that's all I'll need."

Ruby also spoke to Tsukune.

"Don't forget to stop by an automated teller machine so I can get money out for the groceries."

"Sure thing, guess I need to check my new account too."

Ruby then returned her eyes to Kurumu.

"Any idea how much I should take out of the bank Kurumu?"

Kurumu had a reluctant look on her face as she gave her honest estimate.

"Well, it's going to be a lot. I'd say 100,000¥ should cover it. Should be a bit less, but just to be safe you should get that amount out."

Ruby turned her head back to forward with a concerned look on her face now too, matched by the one Tsukune developed when he also heard that figure.

"Oh…..Okay."

It was a lot, even for seven people, but Tsukune wasn't going to let her bear that burden alone.

"Assuming I have money in my account I can split the bill with you."

Ruby seemed to dislike this idea more than the expense she was about to incur.

"OH NO! It's fine. I can cover that amount easily. No worries."

They exchanged warm smiles.

Kurumu was getting highly irritated by how much these two were flirting with each other today, but didn't think she should call either out on it just yet. Instead, she wanted to distract herself as much as she could and turned her eyes outward at the human world passing them by.

She soon found a suitable distraction.

"I can't believe how few people are out today. We've only seen three cars on the road since leaving the dimensional portal, and two were police cars. Probably haven't seen that many people walking anywhere either."

Ruby now also directed her gaze on the almost completely empty streets and the seemingly closed businesses they were passing.

"Understandably people are scared and concerned after last night. If I had been just a Human and not a witch, I can't image I'd be too eager to be out today either."

Tsukune realized his companions probably didn't know as much as he did and offered what he knew.

"The Prime Minister asked everyone on national TV last night to remain calm and help by staying off the roads today if they didn't need to be out. He asked people to only go out for essential reasons. Since it's the weekend as well it's no big deal for folks to stay home."

Kurumu twisted up her lips before replying.

"You don't think any of these police patrols will pull us over to ask us why we're not staying in like the Prime Minister requested?"

Tsukune gave a small smile as he answered her with relative confidence.

"No! I don't think it's that big of a deal. Just a request to limit traffic to assist the emergency responders getting around easier. This town wasn't attacked anyway, so we should be fine here."

Neither of his companions seemed convinced, so he added further circumstantial evidence.

"Anyway, my uncle said this morning that the shrines, temples, and churches were full of people; so it's not like everyone is staying in, they're just all going to the same places."

Before the conversation could continue Tsukune's eyes darted to the left.

"Here's the post office. We'll use their ATM."

Tsukune pulled over to the left and parked in the completely empty parking area.

"Are you sure they're open?"

Tsukune nodded affirmatively back to Kurumu.

"If anyone is open, it's the post office."

Ruby looked out at the small building with her own concerned expression.

"We could have just used the ATM in the store."

Tsukune shook his head and did a good impression of channeling his own father's words.

"No, their fees are higher, better to use the post office and save some money."

Ruby reluctantly exited the car with Tsukune and both entered the building. Inside there was no one at the counter, but that wasn't unusual as this place usually only had one person on duty and a lot of the features were automated or didn't require direct help.

They both stepped up to the ATM and Tsukune stopped a respectful distance away so Ruby could check her account first in privacy.

Honestly, Ruby was disappointed he hadn't used the chance to get physically closer to her, but she was still impressed by how much he was a gentleman none-the-less.

Tsukune stood back and looked at postcards as Ruby put her card in and accessed her account with her secret code.

He couldn't help but notice that she seemed confused at what she was looking at a few moments later.

 _"That can't be right."_

She used the backup feature to make sure it was indeed her account she was accessing.

 _"Well, it has my name on it so it's not someone else's card."_

Tsukune's curiosity was starting to get the better of him now.

"Everything alright?

"OH! Yes. I just put the card in wrong…I think."

She hit the cancel button, retrieved her card and then very slowly and methodically repeated the access process again.

Ruby's eyes grew wide and she immediately tried to calm herself without alarming Tsukune.

 _"Well, I certainly can cover the grocery bill…."_

Ruby typed in the withdraw figure on the keypad and took out the currency and her card before stepping away, all while trying to present a calm face for her handsome companion.

"Your turn."

Tsukune smiled back at her, then put in his own card and code.

With her back turned to him, the first indication something was wrong with his account as well was his excited sounding words.

"No WAY that's right?"

"What is it?"

Tsukune waved her to join him and when she looked down on the screen she joined him in surprise.

"It's a crazy amount. It can't be right."

Instead of agreeing with him she surprised him with a calm reply.

"Really….you too?"

"What do you mean you too?"

She gave him an awkward expression and then shyly explained what had happened with her own account.

"I didn't want to say anything, but I had a considerable amount more in my account than I should have. It was all deposited at one time too, last night."

They both looked back at the screen with wide eyes.

"Yes, that's the same amount as was in my account, and it was deposited at the same time."

"Wait, did the Chairman also set up your bank account as well?"

Ruby nodded as she replied.

"Well yes, months ago when I first came to the Academy. He insisted on paying me as an employee. Having lived with Lady Oyakata since childhood I knew nothing about banks, currency, and paychecks."

Tsukune rubbed at his forehead as he continued to stare at the small screen in disbelief.

"Well, that explains it. Chairman Mikogami must have put the money in for both of us."

"You think so? I guess that DOES seem to be the most plausible reason."

They again exchanged concerned expression as Tsukune spoke once more.

"That's a…..LOT of money though. A LOT! That's multiples of what my father makes in a year, and he has a pretty good job."

Ruby's eyes began to dart around as she seemed to think deeply on the subject, then she quietly made a suggestion.

"We keep this to ourselves for the time being. It could just be a banking error, but the likelihood that both our accounts would have that same amount extra is very low."

Tsukune nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. We'll keep it to ourselves for now."

* * *

"Everything OK?"

Kurumu had only meant it as an innocuous question, but Tsukune's strange reactions to it put her immediately on alert.

"Um….yeah. Everything is fine. Yeah."

Ruby now asked her a return question.

"Why do you ask?"

Instead of mimicking Tsukune's strange reaction Ruby sent Kurumu an odd smile. It was like she knew something about Kurumu that she herself wouldn't want to be known to others.

"Um….no reason. Just seemed to take a bit longer than I thought it would."

Ruby, with that odd knowing smile, gave her a wink before turning back around and fastening her safety belt.

"Oh, yes. I see."

Whether Ruby had meant her interesting reaction as nothing more than a cover for their more transparent companion or she really knew something offputting for Kurumu, it had the desired effect. Kurumu didn't ask any follow-up question about what had transpired at the ATM.

They left the post office and kept heading in the same direction as they were going before.

A couple of kilometers later and Kurumu directed their attention to the right.

"Here's the store."

They had passed by smaller stores that they more often frequented in this conveniently located mid-sized city because Kurumu, who probably was an expert on the topic, insisted that they'd have to make multiple stops to cover the whole list of items. This was the largest general purpose grocery store in the area and probably would have all they needed, assuming the local human population hadn't panicked after last night and already cleaned them out.

Tsukune didn't think that possibility was worth mentioning unless it became an issue. As things stood now, Kurumu had indicated that this was definitely going to be a two cart trip, if not three, so the bigger store was the safer bet.

Ruby's eyes fell on the vehicles in the parking area.

"They're a few cars in the parking lot. Looks like it's open."

On a typical Saturday afternoon, this large parking lot would normally be nearly full. The events of the previous night had indeed suppressed normal activities, even this far away from the events themselves. That said there were significantly more cars parked here than they had passed on the way here so far, so at least some activities were getting back to normal.

Once he had parked the minivan Ruby and Kurumu moved to open their doors but Tsukune suddenly thought of something that needed addressing beforehand.

"Wait for a second Kuru-chan."

"Yes Tsukune-kun, what is it?"

He looked like he was trying to find the right way to phrase what he was about to say.

"It's just…..you see…."

Then a gentle smile cracked his face.

"I'm so used to looking at you now that I almost don't think about it anymore, but…well….blue hair and lavender eyes aren't common traits of the typical Human girl."

Ruby seemed to immediately understand his concerns.

"Wow…you're right. Normally we could let it go as a 'fashion choice' but after last night, we probably shouldn't tempt fate."

Kurumu's mind had drifted in another direction though, as she blushed with a happy smile.

 _"AWE! He knew my eyes were lavender and not just some shade of purple, how thoughtful he is, and observant."_

Tsukune then looked at her with a puzzled expression and Kurumu made to shyly hide her blushing from his questioning gaze. She pretended to look around her for something.

"Well…doesn't look like there's a hat or sunglasses for me to wear in here."

This made Ruby smile.

"Don't worry, I think I can fix this one up for you. Make sure no one's looking from outside for me."

Tsukune and Kurumu looked around them as Ruby's staff-wand appeared in her right hand.

"Good in my direction."

"Me too."

"…good."

With that statement, Ruby gently placed her wand's glowing purple orb on Kurumu's forehead and her hair faded to a shade of light brown and her eyes also became brown.

Once done Kurumu looked at herself in the rearview mirror with a dissatisfied expression.

"Oh! I look so…plain…."

"I think you look lovely Kurumu."

Her expression was surprised but Tsukune's praise reignited the blush in her cheeks.

"…you do?"

Suddenly Tsukune's own cheeks began to blush as he confirmed what he had just said.

"I sure do! Of course, you're always beautiful. It's just a different type of beautiful now."

Kurumu's face was so flushed now she couldn't even look him in the eyes any longer. She absentmindedly twirled her finger in her hair as she meekly replied.

"Well…..as long as you think so….."

"I certainly do!"

She seemed very satisfied with his answer, despite her own misgivings about her altered appearance.

"Thanks, Tsukune-kun. So Ruby, how long will I look this way?"

"Just a couple hours is all."

"Hold on a second Ruby."

When Tsukune suddenly placed his hand on her forearm it was Ruby's turn to begin blushing, much to Kurumu's annoyance.

"OH!...Okay."

Then Tsukune sent Kurumu a concerned expression. His next words however nearly sent her into a panic.

"What's wrong Kurumu? What did I do?"

"Huh?...um…nothing, why?"

Tsukune suddenly seemed to doubt what he had just asked himself now and looked downward with a confused expression.

"Oh…sorry, it's just I thought…um…"

Ruby suddenly placed her hand on the back of Tsukune's hand. The look she sent him this time was very serious though.

"You know Tsukune-kun, you've been doing that all day. Thinking you heard Kurumu say something she apparently didn't."

Kurumu's panicked state nearly went into overdrive now, luckily from his angle with her, Tsukune couldn't see her building terror, but Ruby surely could.

Ruby though stayed completely focused on Tsukune.

"I guess I have. Not sure why….."

"Oh! I think I know exactly why."

Kurumu looked like she was about to open the door and make a run for it.

"You simply haven't gotten enough sleep!"

Kurumu looked like she visibly deflated with relief when Ruby made that surprise turn in the conversation.

"Oh, you think so?"

Kurumu moved quickly now to support Ruby's only somewhat accurate assessment.

"Ruby's right! That must be it!"

Ruby gently patted the back of Tsukune's hand as she continued.

"Kurumu and I can get the groceries. You should crack the windows, lay the seat back, and take a good, long nap."

Tsukune shook his head at this recommendation.

"Well, that doesn't seem fair. To let you two do all the work while I take a nap? Plus I don't feel all that tired."

Like earlier during the house tour, Ruby was gently determined to get her way now too.

"Trust me, we'll be fine. You just lay back and relax and we'll take care of everything."

"Well…..if you're sure…."

From behind him Kurumu gently pulled his shoulders back into the driver's seat and used her other hand to adjust his seat angle.

"We are, just take it easy and we'll handle the groceries."

Now being tag-teamed by the gorgeous ladies, Tsukune gave in easily.

"…Okay."

Ruby smiled, then moved to use the door handle, but turned back toward Tsukune with a devious little smile on her face.

"What was it you were going to say before we started talking about you taking a nap?"

"…..um…OH YEAH! I remember now."

She directed a brief smirk at Kurumu who again looked like she had tensed significantly, but a wink from Ruby as Tsukune began to speak seemed to dispel the rebuilding heavy atmosphere from the middle row seats.

Tsukune though was blushing again.

"Well you see, Kurumu has unique hair and eye colors and…well…you dress...uniquely."

Ruby suddenly looked down at her goth style clothing with surprise, as if the idea that it was noticeable to typical humans had never occurred to her before.

"Oh…you think I dress…..weird?"

At her pouty sounding question, Tsukune delivered a fumbling mortified reply.

"OH NO! Not weird! I love the way you dress! It's just…distinctive. Since you were photographed in that outfit last night though…..

Ruby nodded back that she understood. It was one thing to pop into the post office where only one of two people at most probably were, but this large store had a lot of eyeballs in it and after last night, curious minds to go with them.

"Oh! I see. Yes, I should tone it down when in the Human world. Let's see what can be done…."

Tsukune slumped a bit in relief as Ruby hadn't taken offense to his comments.

Ruby's wand reappeared in her hand and a slight back and forth motion replaced her usual attire with a t-shirt and shorts.

"I think this will do."

She then shyly smiled at a rather pleased looking Tsukune as Kurumu glared daggers at her from the row behind them.

"Well…..what do you think Tsukune-kun?"

Her shirt was nearly as tight as her normal corset, showing off her rather impressive bust. Her shorts were also short enough where Tsukune could see her very shapely thighs, a rare treat from her normal long skirt that he had only on occasion got to admire before now.

Kurumu leered at the back of Tsukune's head with disgust, as if she were prepared to hit him for his obvious ogling of their companion.

"Um…..yeah….you look great."

Ruby, glowing in his obvious admiration, now was the recipient of Kurumu's full disgust.

"You need to do something different with your hair. It doesn't match what you're wearing."

Kurumu's snarky sounding comment made Ruby act quickly.

"Oh! You're right."

Ruby untied both of her twin ponytail ribbons and handed one to Tsukune.

"Would you mind holding on to this one for me while I'm shopping?"

"….oh….of course."

She then grabbed her hair up in the back and used the other ribbon to tie her hair into a single ponytail. On either side of her head loose strands wrapped around her cheekbones framing her face beautifully.

Tsukune's continued pleased expression made Kurumu pout angrily as she reached for the latch to the sliding door.

"We'll be back in just a bit."

Ruby had already exited the car and spoke to Tsukune through the window as she stood beside Kurumu.

"Make sure you take that nap!"

"Okay, I will! Come get me if you need me!"

They waved merrily and exchanged smiles, then Tsukune leaned back and closed his eyes as the two ladies proceeded toward the grocery store entrance.

As they walked Kurumu spoke up in a funny sounding voice.

"'Tsukune-kun, would you mind holding my ribbon for me?' Um…nice one."

Though her companion was clearly irritated with her, Ruby didn't plan to let it get under her skin.

"Oh, you liked that?"

Kurumu smirked back at her.

"Wouldn't say I 'liked' it."

To Kurumu's continued irritation this only made Ruby giggle.

"I have to get my flirting with Tsukune-kun in when I can, you other four are always on top of him."

Kurumu rolled her eyes at the amused looking witch beside her.

"Nice wardrobe change too, by the way, almost caused a significant nose bleed."

Ruby shrugged with a smile as she responded.

"Well, if you have to change outfits in front of a man, might as well be into something memorable."

Kurumu looked instantly pleased when they walked in to see that this store had the large style dedicated shopping carts in addition to the typical basket holder style push cart familiar to most. The larger carts did require a rental to use them though so Ruby exchanged some of her paper currency for coins at a coin machine and then both of them took a larger style cart into the store.

On the first aisle Kurumu immediately went to work and started filling her cart and checking off items. Ruby walked beside her as the store wasn't too busy to do so as Kurumu discussed the food items, occasionally pointing to the other side for Ruby to grab an item as well.

It was as both of them were reaching for items on shelves opposite each other that Ruby began a discussion with her wholly unrelated to food.

"So…are you able to block any of Tsukune's thoughts?"

Kurumu froze with a package of dried mangos in her hands. It took her way too long to reply to Ruby's shocking question.

"What? What are you going on about?"

Kurumu plastered a fake smile and slightly confused expression on her face but the glint of mirth in Ruby's eyes told her her bluster wasn't going to work. Ruby was smiling at Kurumu as they placed their latest items in their respective carts.

"Oh…..you don't? That's interesting."

After a look to see that there were no other people on this aisle with them or any security cameras, Ruby's magic book appeared in her hand. She flipped it to a particular page and then held it so Kurumu could see what was on it.

To her own terror, Kurumu saw that it was a whole page dedicated to the Succubus Mating Bond.

"Well, when you are ready to acknowledge that you have the Succubus Mating Bond with our Tsukune-kun let me know and I'll see if I can help you out with that, alright."


	10. Short Day VIII

They walked in silence for two and a half more aisles of the store. Kurumu felt totally exposed now. It would have been one thing for Tsukune to have figured it out on his own, he was part of the bond, it was inevitable. Ruby and that damn book of hers though? She'd never felt this "naked" even in the Academy changing rooms.

She knew she'd have to respond. This wasn't the type of thing you left unaddressed. She also knew it had to be soon. She couldn't afford for Ruby to walk out the doors of this store without having the issue settled once and for all.

Finally, she braved the conversation and tried to speak in a dismissive tone.

"Not saying that what you said just a few minutes ago is true….but if it is…..why would you offer to help me with it? Aren't you in love with Tsukune-kun too?"

She knew it was a highly tangential way of bringing the topic back up, but taking it head on would have been too much for her at this point. She had to get warmed up first before she could tackle it head on. She also knew her questions were a thinly veiled attempt to put the onus back on Ruby.

"Of course I am, very much so. Nothing would make me happier than to be the mother of Tsukune's children and to spend the rest of my days with him."

Kurumu was a bit surprised by Ruby's blunt and earnest response. Ruby wasn't nearly as expressive about her feelings for Tsukune as the other girls. Even silver-haired Moka was downright effusive about her feelings for him compared to Ruby. Still, it was always assumed by them all that she was also was in love with him. You could just tell.

Now Kurumu had solid confirmation of that for the very first time.

Ruby placed a small bag of yellow-skinned potatoes in her cart as she cheerfully replied. Her smile was genuine enough. If Kurumu's silence or subsequent attempt to make Ruby's motivations the conversation topic instead offended her, she never showed it.

"Do you really think we need both carts?"

Kurumu was only slightly surprised by the redirection back to their current activities.

"With this list, we might need a third!"

They again moved a short way down the aisle and again tackled their respective shelves. Only when they began to move once more did Ruby return to the main issue.

"Kuru-chan, you're my friend. If you have a problem it's my problem too. If you need help I will do whatever I can to help you."

Despite being two of rather too numerous competitors for Tsukune's heart, Kurumu felt Ruby was being completely honest with her about her intentions. Which only made her even more wary of Ruby's real intentions.

"Well…thanks. So….yes. We, Tsukune and I, I mean….we."

Ruby gave her awkward looking and stuttering friend as warm smile as she gently cut her admission of truth off for her.

"I know, and unless I'm really off my mark, so do Mizore and Yukari, maybe even Kokoa."

Kururmu was even more surprised by this than the fact Ruby had figured it out. She was especially worried about the last person named. If the sister knew too…..

"You don't think that SHE…."

Ruby's smiled dropped away for a brief moment as the thought of Moka knowing also triggered warnings in her own mind, but unlike her deathly concerned companion, she was able to immediately dismiss this possibility.

"No! Not yet. Which is why we need to get a handle on it before she does know. What does HE know?"

Ruby picked up another item and made sure Kurumu crossed it off the list before Kurumu spoke again.

"Well…it seems I have a hard time blocking my more intense emotions from him, but I'm easily blocking my general thoughts. I doubt other than what you've seen so far he knows any different though."

Ruby nodded with a relieved expression when she heard this.

"That's good. We need as much time as possible. I know you don't have very long. We need to see if there's a way to increase your blocking ability. I'll see what I can find out on the topic."

Kurumu was surprised by this generosity, very much so, but she was still more concerned about Moka finding out.

"If SHE finds out…."

"She won't, not yet, not till she's ready to hear it."

Instead of reassuring Kurumu, Ruby's words stunned her eyes wide open. Nowhere in her heart did Kurumu even fathom Moka capable of excepting a romantic relationship between Kurumu and Tsukune. Especially Silver-haired Moka, and that Moka was apparently here to stay,

"She will NEVER be ready to hear it."

Again Ruby gave her a reassuring smile that seemed completely out of tune with the facts as Kurumu knew them to be. Her next words were equally hard for Kurumu to accept as reality.

"She will, or she'll get as close to it as possible and then we'll help her the rest of the way."

Ruby was an exceptional witch but there was no magic that could change reality so very much to fit this narrative.

A world where Moka let go of Tsukune so Kurumu could have him simply could not possibly exist.

The thought of living without her mate of fate, her Tsukune, terrified Kurumu to her core. When a mate of fate died their succubus died with them, and vice versa. It was a life bond of the first magnitude. Neither could survive without the other. From the moment of union, the minds of both were needed for either to even function.

There were extremely rare cases, one in millions, where a succubus did miraculously survive the loss of her mate of fate, but Kurumu knew firsthand the horrors of that experience. She honestly thought it better for her to die.

"My….my mother, when she lost my father, she almost…died. Honestly, she should have died. Most Succubi don't survive the loss of their mate. You saw me in Reverse Hong Kong when I thought that Tsukune loved Moka more than me, and we weren't even bonded yet. As a shinso, there is the possibility Tsukune could survive, but I know that I will die without him."

Ruby stopped her cart and turned to face her nearly tearful friend. She firmly grabbed Kurumu behind her upper arms and looked intently into her eyes.

"It will never come to that. We will fix it so that never happens."

Kurumu believed her too. She could sense the other woman's complete confidence radiating out of her and into her own being. She had no idea where the confidence was coming from, but it was strangely reassuring.

Still, there was a lot of doubt left in the succubus's ailing heart.

"But how? With Moka, and the other girls….."

Ruby smiled and wrapped her left arm maternally around Kurumu's waist.

"You see us other girls as obstacles in the way of you and Tsukune being together. I understand that, but I don't see you other girls the same way."

Her smile took on a conspiratorial smirk.

"You, Tsukune, Moka, the others; you're my family and the only one I have."

Kurumu often forgot that Ruby was an orphan, twice over now if you consider Lady Oyakata. Last night her new mentor had also died as well.

"Oh, Ruby! I didn't mean….."

Ruby shook her head with a smile to instantly dispel Kurumu's obvious concerns for her.

"It's alright. Now as we continue to shop I want you to listen to how I see things and when we're done I want to see if what I talk to you about makes any sense to you too."

The concern on Kurumu's face dissolved into suspicious curiosity.

"Um…Okay."

Ruby released her grip on Kurumu and they both moved their carts forward once more.

"Good! You see, I see an opportunity to be with OUR Tsukune forever; but it will take a lot of patience, understanding, and compromise, and love to make it happen."

Kurumu wasn't entirely sure where Ruby was going with this but knew that Ruby was meticulous enough to have thought out everything before bringing a new idea up to anyone else. Especially an idea that from her body language and couched words seemed to be a bit controversial.

"I see, well….succubi live off love."

Ruby playfully tossed a box of something over into Kurumu's cart with a bright smile on her face.

"Then you may just get to live a very long life indeed my very dear succubus friend."

Kurumu still was nervous though. It would need to be a hell of a plan to get the "Vampire Princess" to accept that Tsukune was hers now. Also, none of this seemed to fit into Ruby proclaiming that she wanted to be the mother of Tsukune's children either. Whatever Ruby had planned also required Kurumu to be patient and to compromise?

She drove down her doubts and decided it was her turn to turn the tables on the too well-informed witch, if only for entertainment value.

"Interesting, I'll hear this…plan of yours out, and when you're done talking to me about this…opportunity, then you can tell me all about that money Tsukune and you have in your bank accounts."

Ruby was only stunned for a moment before she grinned and shook her head in frustration at not having realized the obvious, given she had already strongly suspected they were mates of fate.

"Fair warning, if you don't want me to know, don't tell Tsukune."

Ruby could only laugh at this all too obvious fact of their lives going forward.

* * *

It was a good thing that the girls had altered their appearance because struggling to get three full carts of groceries to the car was drawing lots of attention to them anyway.

Kurumu slapped at the side of the minivan to wake up Tsukune, who despite being bleary-eyed, managed to spring out and open the rear hatch very quickly. As he did so his eyes went wide at the veritable cornucopia of items he now had to help load into the minivan.

"WOW! You guys clean the whole place out?"

Ruby replied with a grin as they both began moving bags from the first cart into the rear of the minivan.

"Almost! You sleep alright?"

Tsukune seemed even more embarrassed than before about letting them do all that work while he slept.

"I did! How long were you in there?"

"Almost two hours."

Tsukune's eyes again widen at Ruby's words.

"Wow! I think I slept that whole time too."

If he was worried he had put them out by doing so, Ruby's happy response had to relieve him of that false assumption.

"Good! You needed it."

Kurumu seemed oddly silent as she held the other two carts from rolling away. Tsukune saw a very distant look in her eyes and was about to ask her what was wrong, when a vehicle pulled up to the newspaper vending machines outside of the store, distracting Ruby and his own attention.

"I wonder if that is that a special afternoon edition?"

Tsukune's ominous tone was echoed by Ruby.

"Must be. We asked inside if they had any extra papers from this morning but they said no."

They exchanged concerned looks. A special afternoon addition should be an indication that more had come to light about the events of the previous night.

That could only be bad news for them.

"We'd better grab one, to see if there have been any…..changes…..since this morning."

Before he could move to do so Ruby headed in that direction instead.

"I'll get it."

She took the now empty first cart up to the cart return before heading back toward the building.

Tsukune's eyes now refocused again at Kurumu with mild concern showing in his features as they load groceries together. She had that distant look still on her face he had seen just seconds before.

"Are you alright?"

She looked up as if surprised to see him there but quickly plastered a forced smile on her face.

"Huh? Oh! I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

He had no reason to doubt her but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to believe her.

"Of course, I'm fine."

Her reassuring words and smile seemed to have no effect on his concern for her at all.

"It's just…..you seem distant. Lost in thoughts."

Honestly, he had had this uneasy sense of her wellbeing since they were at the hospital the previous night but he had no real reason for it that he could figure out. She had, more or less, been usual, boisterous Kuru-chan.

"Who? Me? No, everything is good Tsukune-kun."

She was smiling at him as they unloaded the second cart but he knew, instinctively, that she wasn't being completely honest with him. He also felt like she had become very nervous too, despite the forced smile.

"I don't…well…I don't believe you."

He had stopped loading as stood upright to face her. He looked at her with complete concern on his face now. His intent demeanor made her respond nervously, this time with her own concern showing back toward him.

"What? But I…"

Tsukune just let his thoughts roll off his tongue without judging them beforehand as he watched her eyes widen with each word.

"It's not that I think you're lying to me maliciously. You just…..want to protect me from…..something."

She was fighting hard not to look terrified and was failing miserably. The silence that now hung in the air between them seemed to stretch on forever. She had to redirect his thoughts somehow before he figured out why she had become so much more readable to him.

"Well….since becoming a vampire your imagination certainly has developed."

Her attempt at light-heartedness didn't deflect him at all.

"No, it hasn't. I just…know. I know you're keeping something back. I just don't know…how I….."

 _"Damn! My mental barriers are not good enough. He's starting to feel my thoughts! What am I going to do? Concentrate!"_

Suddenly he seemed to sense that he was the cause of her concerns.

"It's okay Kuru-chan. I trust you. If it's something you don't think I should know then I will accept that. I just want to make sure you're alright, is all. I don't want you to….."

She tried to laugh it off again as she cut him off with a dismissive hand wave.

"I am, silly boy! Don't worry so much. We're all tired."

They started loading the items again, but Tsukune didn't seem capable of letting this topic go.

"Things have changed between us, haven't they?"

Kurumu began to panic again, with the added worry that Tsukune now saw their relationship differently. She could feel something had changed in his mind about her, and she knew what it was.

"I….what do you mean Tsukune-kun?"

"It's just…..I feel I know you much better now. Like we're…."

"Connected?"

She had fallen into the trap of the bond between them and had let her thoughts out too freely. She took a few deep breaths to try to rebuild her mental wall back up as he continued to speak.

"Yes…..like I can feel you. All the time."

She had to find some way to explain it without revealing too much.

"That happens when people become…close. Like we are."

She began loading bags even quicker. The third cart was halfway finished, but suddenly he stunned her again by grabbing her hand.

"I owe you…everything. What you did for me in Reverse Hong Kong. You saved my…."

This was getting way too dangerously close to the real truth. She had to get him off this train of thought or risk exposing everything to him. It's what she knew her own subconscious mind was trying to force her to do. It was unnatural to suppress the mating bond. She was fighting her own instincts now.

She stepped up to him and gently put her two fingers on his lips to stop his words.

"And how many times have you come to my rescue? It's too late to start keeping score now Tsukune-kun."

They looked into each other's eyes and she again drifted dangerously close to their bond in her mind once again.

"You know Tsukune-kun that I would do any….."

"I know Kuru-chan! I do. And you know I….."

"Yes! Yes, I know. I know Tsukune-kun."

Suddenly a single tear dripped down from Kurumu's right eye. A corresponding tear fell from its opposite number on her love's face as well.

"Are you two okay?"

Ruby's concerned words and expression made both jump and awkwardly rub away at their cheeks.

"Oh! Yeah, we're good."

Kurumu quickly followed up Tsukune's words.

"All loaded up and ready to go."

Ruby sent her a particularly concerned expression but soon dismissively smiled to them both.

"Good, we should get moving."

Her smile faded as her words continued, which did a great job of distracting the other two from their previous concerns as they now could refocus on Ruby.

"What's wrong Ruby?"

She gave him a meek smile.

"I'll show you when we're in the van."

They returned the last two carts to the return area and boarded the minivan.

Once inside Tsukune turned back to where Ruby sat on the middle bench seat and inquired again about what had concerned her. He assumed it was something in the newspaper she now had on her lap.

"Okay, now what's the problem?"

Instead of speaking, she reluctantly handed over the paper itself. Kurumu leaned over from the passenger seat to also get a look.

A giant picture of Alucard in his giant demonic form graced the cover with large, bold print going vertically beside it.

[More on the Creatures that attacked Japan. Will they attack again?]

This was of course expected, so Tsukune knew this wasn't what had caused Ruby so much concern.

"Turn the page."

He obeyed her simple request as the two ladies leaned in even closer to see what was on that next page. Another large bold print headline and tagline graced the top of another large picture.

[Is this the face of Evil? Who are these mysterious invaders?]

It wasn't the inflammatory words that drew Tsukune and Kurumu's eyes to it though. After a few moments of silent observation, Tsukune replied in a rather light tone to what he was looking down at.

"Well, you can certainly see my nose in this one for sure."

Both were instantly put off by whatever inside joke Tsukune found so obviously humorous in this rather worrisome moment. Kurumu was considerably more agitated by the image than he apparently was.

"Damn! That's your face for sure, minus the silver hair and red eyes."

Before them was a clear image of Tsukune's face in full shinso vampire blood-armor with wings deployed. Kurumu was correct about his eye and hair color, but otherwise, anyone who knew Tsukune well would know that was him.

"The note in the article below says that the images have been extrapolated artistically from computer-enhanced images. Even so, that's a damn good likeness of Tsukune, and the rest of us."

Ruby's words made Tsukune flip the page again to see more images of not only himself but of all the other girls too. Whoever "artistically extrapolated" these enhanced images was damn good at it.

There wasn't much else he could say about it.

"Yup, anyone who knows me will think this looks like me. Of course, that doesn't mean much. Most Humans I know would never think in a million years that scrawny Aono Tsukune could be…this guy."

The look of concern his two companions sent in his direction didn't seem mollified by his easy-going assessment.

"Maybe that's the case, but it only takes one of those people to make a phone call to the government or press, then…"

Tsukune could only agree with Ruby's point with a shrug.

"I know, and it will happen, eventually. I know this too. It was unavoidable after last night."

From beside him, Kurumu put her hand on his forearm in concern.

"How can you be so…..calm about this? Aren't you worried?"

He shrugged as he smiled back at her.

"I'm not worried for us. After all, we have our Yokai abilities and the Great Barrier to protect us. I am concerned for my family though."

Ruby's expression indicated she was thinking now at a high rate.

"We'll need a backup plan to ensure we can get your folks to safety if they do identify you."

Tsukune moved to turn the page again but Ruby tried to lay her hand on the page.

"We'd better get moving. It looks like more people are coming out and you know Moka won't be happy if we…."

She hadn't been in time though. He had flipped the page and her hand couldn't cover the next image. Kurumu could see it now too. Both ladies held their breath waiting to see how their beloved one would respond to what he now saw.

There were several images on this page all of the same beautiful woman. The headline was also in dramatic bold kanji and hiragana.

[Is this what an Angel looks like? The Mysterious winged woman that apparently saved Japan from the Monsters.]

They both tensed as they sensed him do so too. As they looked upon his unreadable face they tried to prepare themselves for any potential response he might have to seeing..."her".

"Well, they finally got one of these headlines right."

They could see his eyes moistening. Kurumu tensed her handhold on his forearm and Ruby grabbed his shoulder gently as she spoke up.

"Tsukune…."

He finally turned away from the paper with a bright smile for them both.

"You're right Ruby-chan. We better get back and help the others or Moka will surely make us pay for it."

Kurumu then spoke out with concern, pulling his plastered smile in her direction.

"But Tsukune…."

He now gently patted her hand as he spoke.

"And honestly, I think the Yokai Times already has better writing and production quality than this rag. Of course, I'm sure since it's a rushed special afternoon edition, that they had to skip some usual quality assurances to get it out the door. Still though, for an actual paid newspaper staff, not all that great of an effort."

They both wanted to comfort him. They both knew he was suffering, even without a special mental bond. That he was suffering in silence while presenting them with a strong and happy image broke their hearts.

He loved her.

How could he not be dying a little inside to see her in the final moments of her life?

It didn't matter if Tsukune subscribed to "there is only one Moka" theory or not. He had lost at least a part of her last night that he desperately loved, but he loved all the others too much to risk hurting them by saying so.

It wasn't healthy for him and they both wanted to tell him that but neither could find the courage to break his hard-built defensive walls down, at least not now, in this moment.

Maybe once they were all safe at home he would allow himself to grieve?

They both surely hoped so.

"Anyway, let's get back. We're done in the Human World for one day, I think."

As he turned the vehicle on they put on their safety belts with mixed emotions warring on their faces.

"…..um…..yes, we should get out of here."

Kurumu couldn't agree more with Ruby if she tried.

"I for one am ready to put this day far behind us."

As Tsukune shifted into drive and refocused on the way ahead, Kurumu and Ruby finally got a chance to exchange worried looks. To Ruby's unspoken question Kurumu gently shook her head.

That simple, sad head shake could have been answering multiple questions.

No, Tsukune didn't know about the mate of fate bond yet.

No, he's not very upset about the pictures.

No, he really is fine, at least for now.

Or no, he really wasn't fine and just putting on a brave face.

The answer was probably a little or a lot of all of the above though, and that was the problem with Tsukune. He was so willing to please that he could sublimate himself to others needs while ignoring his own.

It was something they both admired in him, and something they both feared for him as well.

The idea of Tsukune losing himself, and not addressing his own pain, caused these two women who loved him dearly great concern as the minivan rolled back towards the tunnel that would let them reenter the dimensional portal back to Yokai Academy.

Neither knew how to fix that particular problem yet, but both would never stop trying to find the answer.

For his sake, and their own.

* * *

Gin was only vaguely aware of his own reflection in the glass between him and several stories up of Kansai airspace. He didn't really want to see himself right now. He didn't particularly want to be here either, looking down on the city that was his home.

The emergency services apparently had finally finished clearing up the final bits of whatever that last smoldering fire had been. Only the fading orange light of the setting sun against the far side of the high stratus clouds and the approaching purple hood of night could be seen above the city now.

 _"Here I am thinking selfishly about myself and my life when the whole World has been changed forever."_

Gin took in the view for a few silent moments more before turning sullenly on it as he walked back down the corridor.

 _"Maybe I really am just a selfish bastard after all?"_

A few moments later he came to a stop before a doorway. He boldly reached out his hand to take the latch handle, but once he had it resting there he stopped. A moment later his forehead came to rest on that same door.

 _"Am I being selfish here too? Wanting San above what...'might' best for my family?"_

He closed his eyes as if anything he could possibly lay his eyes on in that moment would cause him pain.

 _"Why do I have to be…..me? Why can't I be a normal Yokai with a normal Yokai life?"_

Gin slowly opened his weary eyes and stood back up to stare blankly at the door, his hand still firmly on the handle waiting to be of use to him.

 _"Wallow in self-pity some other time."_

Gin stepped into a small but richly appointed changing area. Plush terrycloth robes hung from hooks in walnut wood alcoves to his left. On the platforms below each of them were towels.

One alcove was missing its robe. Neatly folded women's clothing sat where the towels were located in the other alcoves. Dress pumps rested in the space below. A purple thong panty and matching bra set were located where the towel that was now missing surely had been before. Her delicate undergarments were proudly displayed on top of the clothes.

She was beautiful in the extreme, she had every right to be proud of her femininity.

Despite being alone here, Gin still swallowed back down the urge to sigh in exasperation though. She was sending him a message by leaving her "unmentionables" out for her one-man audience to see.

Gin sat on the long leather bench against the right wall and removed his shoes and socks, placing them rather haphazardly under the towel platform in the alcove ahead of him. He then stood and removed his clothes. He took up the towel and tossed his clothes where the towel had just been just seconds before. He left his robe on its hook.

Now completely naked except for the towel in his hands he approached the opaque glass doors at the other end of the changing room and walked in.

The humid air hit his senses full force and it took him a second or two standing with the door open before he felt comfortable enough to enter the hot and thick air of the showers. Another bench was on the right but this time it was made of water-resistant wood. On the left wall were shower wands and cleaning supplies on a small full-length shelf that stretched across the shower alcoves.

Gin tossed his towel on the bench and stepped under a shower wand. He tapped a large chrome button on the wall and immediately water poured down onto him.

It was already warm, a luxury Gin took for granted.

He turned the water off after a few moments and began washing his hair and body with the provided supplies. As he did his mind continued to race over his personal problems.

 _"Surely there is some way that I can have what I want in life. I just need to figure it out."_

Having completed the task efficiently and turned the water back on, he rested his palms against the wall as the soap and dirt residue washed down his legs and away into the drain below him.

 _"Too bad I can't use magic like Yukari and Ruby to just wish myself a better situation."_

Another set of opaque glass doors were to his right. Gin stopped the water and stepped up to grab his towel. He didn't use the towel though, as he was about to continue to be wet anyway.

With his free hand now on the door handle, he paused again. He closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. Satisfied he was ready now he opened the door into an even more humid space than before.

"I was starting to get worried."

The water vapor in the air was thick and so was the heat, but he could still make out the feminine form in the water through the haze. Normally the onsen would be completely free of anything but water and clean bodies but Akaio was very fond of bubble baths and the cherry blossom scent filled the air.

Gin suppressed another sigh when he realized he'd have to shower again after this or risk smelling a little too much like his sister. He also saw shampoo and body wash beside the in-floor tub. True to her word as always she indeed planned to give him a full bath herself.

Gin tossed his towel onto a rack next to his sister's much neater looking folded towel and robe.

"I would never hurt that old man….much."

Admittedly it was difficult not to focus on her ample bubble covered breasts, but Gin vainly tried to anyway as they bounced rhythmically with her laughter.

"Haha! You underestimate him at your own peril, my dear little brother. There's still a lot of life left in him yet."

Gin grabbed the aluminum handrail as he descended into the bath, apparently undisturbed by the high temperature of the water.

Once he was in up to his waist, Akaio glided smoothly up to him, taking his hands to pull him toward the middle where she had just been. Once there she turned him around and gently pulled him lower into the water by his shoulders.

He didn't resist her, there was no reason to.

That her soap covered breasts now rested softly on his back made Gin happy she couldn't see the expression on his face at the moment, or his growing response now safely hidden by the copious bubbles.

She was exquisite. He put her beauty up beside any woman with confidence.

 _"She so….soft. Why does she have to feel so damn good?"_

Three years ago this would have been perfectly normal to him. Sisters and brothers in this family didn't hesitate to bathe each other or sleep in each other's beds. Sibling affection was expected. Unlike other Yokai and humans though, such activities weren't discouraged after puberty. Quite the opposite! Nothing pleased the family more than a happy accident.

Now…..Gin knew full well what others would think of them if they knew the dark secret of Werewolf kind.

Even other werewolf clans, who had no issue with cousin incest or the occasional sibling marriage, would balk at the extent of sibling marriage practiced by Clan Morioka.

 _"They'd try to extinguish us."_

Such intent multi-generation sibling marriage had only one possible goal, a super-lycan. That was something other clans would never allow the Morioka to achieve if they knew.

His sister's sultry words as she ran her fingers through his hair, lathering up the shampoo, brought him back to the here and now.

"You've grown up a lot since our last bath together Gin-Gin-kun. I've been looking forward to seeing how Mother Nature has blessed you these last couple of years."

Gin was uncertain whether it was his need for his friends' good opinion of him, his own developing scene of right and wrong, or his reignited love for San that now caused him discomfort at what had been considered even by him as normal just a few years before.

As she spoke her hands had drifted from his hair and down under the water. She was reaching around his abdomen and still dangerously lowering her hands.

The pleasant sensation of her delicate touch almost caught Gin completely off guard. He was able at just the last moment to grab her wrists and bring her hands back up to his chest.

If failing to reach her goal had disappointed her she hid it well. She lay her red-haired head against his back and breathed in his scent deeply before releasing a happy sigh as she also tightened her grip on him.

He knew she was willing to lose a "battle" or two since she was certain she would win this "war" eventually.

"You know other sisters wouldn't really care how well-endowed their brothers are."

He pointedly avoided using the word "normal", replacing it with "other". Akaio considered herself perfectly normal and he could only hurt her by implying otherwise.

Akaio parted from him only long enough to fill a hand scrubby with body wash. She replied to him only after returning back to her original spot with him firmly ensconced before her. As she half washed, half messaged his shoulders he reluctantly relaxed as she merrily answered him.

"Well, family pride IS on the line dear brother. You'd be surprised what other sisters do and do not concern themselves with in relation to their brothers, and you and I are no simple siblings, now are we?"

He didn't have a good reply to that. They weren't simply brother and sister. To deny that would be completely pointless.

"That would be a major understatement."

She continued to firmly and slowly dig into his shoulders as she continued to speak in her soft purr of a voice.

"So tense! Was your talk with hiiojiisama that bad?"

She clearly didn't think sibling incest was a problem or worthy of discussion outside of its complete acceptance. Whatever new ideas she might have picked up from other Yokai in her own three years at the Academy clearly hadn't made her question if she should mate with her own brother.

Still, Gin now felt it was time to shift the conversation anyway, even if it was toward that old man.

"No worse than his normal talks with me."

"You know he only wants the best for you, don't you?"

Gin allowed himself to lay his head back on her shoulder as she continued her work on his other one. He rolled his eyes and let out a mild sigh as he admitted he wasn't so opposed to the old man as to think him his enemy.

"Yes, too bad he and I have very different ideas on what's best for ME."

With him laying back on her now, Akaio began to wash her brother's chest too, with a very pleased expression.

"He means well, and he knows what you need to be prepared when it's your turn to lead our family. He wrote that particular book himself, you know."

Despite himself, he couldn't help but love being in his sister's arms. It had been his "natural" state for all his life. She had claimed him as her own even before birth and had been all about him from the very beginning. He had slept in her bed from a young age until she left for the Academy. Had there even been a one year gap between their tenures at the Academy, she might already be the mother of two of his children.

He realized he was getting too comfortable in her loving embrace once again and continued with the previous discussion as a distraction for his mind if nothing else.

"Yeah, I get it. The all-wise Nokiba-dono should be obeyed. After all, he only wants what's best…for the family."

Akaio ignored his sarcasm and took the opportunity to move around to Gin's front. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Gin inhaled sharply as she pulled herself into him, realizing too late that the bubbles had been hiding his lack of self-control from her up until this very moment.

The look of joy on her face when she realized he had been hiding his excitement from her was downright feral to behold.

After biting her tongue playfully at him in joy for a few moments she managed to continue their conversation, despite the call of Mother Nature she obviously felt here in his arms.

"And what's wrong with doing what's right for the family? Would you abandon us for…..her?"

She nuzzled his neck then as he awkwardly responded.

"That's not fair. It's not a competition between the family and San."

She then brought her head back out from his neck and gave him her first disapproving look of the whole bath together.

"Oh? Is it not? Surely you can understand why I would feel differently about that?"

She pouted a moment more, then again laid her head on his neck but this time she did so just to rest it there and enjoy his presence, not to arouse him further.

"One already demands your undivided attention, the other will also want your undivided attention; seems like the definition of competition to me, dear otouto."

She was right, she usually was. Gin let out a frustrated sigh before replying.

"Well…..look on the bright side. San gets one look at our crazy family and she'll probably run for safety."

"You think so? That would be nice!"

Akaio had bounced back to her feet again in mock excitement with her hands on his shoulders and her soap covered bosom bouncing distractingly in Gin's face.

It took great self-control from him to turn away from the beautiful show before his eyes and to direct a rebuking glare upward at his smirking sister's face.

"It's not like we're even dating yet, if ever at all."

She came to rest gently again on him with her arms again around his shoulders and her entire front pressed into his own. They could feel each other intimately and Gin's body was betraying him even more than before. Her head once again in the crook of his neck, she purred into his ear.

"That's true, plus you don't need her; after all, you have me and I'm already too much for you to handle."

He knew she was only teasing him now, so he didn't chastise her for it.

She was in love with him.

In some form, she had been all her life.

He couldn't even blame that old man or their parents for it even. Truth be told she had always demanded his full attention. She may have genuinely fallen in love with her own brother by her own free will.

Gin wasn't sure he could say the same of any of the others in the family though.

Duty and loyalty were the only things even more important than love in Clan Morioka.

"You have everything and everyone you will ever need already here and part of your family. Go have fun with your….siren friend, have babies with her too if it pleases you too. The world belongs to you, my love. I belong to you, always."

"But you deserve so much..."

Two gentle fingers stopped his angry reply.

He couldn't resist her mouth on his neck. Deep inside he didn't want to resist her, and he shamefully knew it.

"Remember you are always welcomed home into your family's waiting embrace. You are always welcomed in your Nee-chan's loving arms. Everything I deserve is here in my arms right now."

Before he knew it she had her tongue in his mouth. He instinctively responded to it's wiggling presence with his own.

He would not push her away either. He hated himself for it, but he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. This was always destined to happen.

He had always wanted to please her. She had been his whole world until she left for Yokai Academy almost six years ago now.

"The best day of my life was the day my precious baby brother was born. I claimed you as mine that day and I have always been there for you since have I not?"

She was undulating slowly on top of him now. Where this was going was already familiar to him. He knew on the flight home when she said she'd bathe him that this was going to happen. It had not been the first time, it undoubtedly would not be the last.

"Of course you have."

She kissed him deeply again before breaking apart and staring down at him with lust, pride, and love radiating for him in her eyes.

"I will ALWAYS be here to support you. You are our family's future leader. I will always be beside you to encourage and strengthen you."

She knew exactly how to wear him down, she always had.

"Do you think I'd ever doubt you, Nee-chan?"

He sat slightly up and willingly pulled her mouth into his own. A few moments later they parted and she had an expression on her face of pure victory.

"No, but I do think you doubt yourself. I'll have none of that. We're a team, you and I. No one will ever understand you or know you like me. I will make sure that you never have to worry about anything."

She playfully used her fingers to pull his chin slightly upwards.

"We belong to you and me."

The next kiss from her was gentle. It was the kiss of a loving sister for her beloved brother, whom she adored just as a brother. She knew he needed her as his sister just as much she needed him as her mate.

Gin hated himself because he knew he was in love with San. Even if they weren't an official couple, he still knew what he was doing now would hurt her if she ever found out.

He couldn't even promise himself that if San and he did become a couple that what was happening now with Akaio wouldn't happen again either.

He wasn't in love with his sister, at least not as much as he was with San, but some part of him was a little in love with the idea of Akaio, no matter how wrong he now thought it was to lust after your own sister.

The weight of his love for her as his sister also sat on top of that romantic love for her, along with his sense of duty to his family, and the expectations of all his elders. Especially that old man.

Akaio wouldn't fight for his love alone, either. Three of their half-sisters, whom he also adored, would expect nothing less from him than what he would give to Akaio. They may squabble amongst themselves but a threat like his pure romantic love for San is something they would unite against, with the full weight of the family behind them too, no matter what the old man had promised him minutes before.

He wanted San, more than anything or anyone else he had ever wanted. On top of his deep love and admiration for her, she also represented his freedom too.

But the weight of his family might crush his dreams of her.

"We always have…"

Gin gave in to the inevitable as Akaio hovered lovingly over him.

As she sat back onto him, he let his thoughts go and gave in to his baser mating instincts.

"…..and we always will."

Letting go of his conscious thoughts, his guilt, was the only way he could think to preserve what sanity he had left to him.

 _"I really am just a selfish bastard after all?"_

* * *

Yukari hopped down happily from her perch atop some cardboard boxes as the green minivan came to a halt next to her.

"That's a funny looking guard dog. She wouldn't scare a fly."

At Kurumu's teasing words from the passenger window, Yukari stuck out her tongue and pulled down her eyelid before releasing a sharp reply of her own.

"You could take my place and scare everyone away with those stinky underarms of yours."

Tsukune and Ruby had already exited the minivan as Kurumu angrily replied after taking a quick nose test of her underarms.

"HEY! MY UNDERARMS DON'T STINK!"

Yukari, however, had moved on from teasing Kurumu.

"Sure did take you guys long enough. Hehe!"

Her laughter indicated her naughty thoughts about what might have caused the "threesome" to take so much time, but the others knew her well enough not to indulge her or she'd just get worse.

"Sorry, we had a lot to unload back at the house."

Ruby added details to Tsukune's words.

"You wouldn't believe all the stuff we got."

Yukari redirected a smirk at Kurumu, who was walking past her towards the collection of boxes.

"Good! I'm starving!"

Kurumu shot the young witch an incredulous glare as she walked by.

"You just ate a few hours ago!"

When everyone turned back away Kurumu sniffed again at her underarms, just for her own self-assurance.

"Well, our Yukari-chan is a growing girl."

Ruby lovingly rubbed the excited young woman's head, as Yukari used her hands to illustrate where she obviously soon expected breasts to form on herself.

"It's true! It's true! Pretty soon I'll be a full grown woman. I know Tsukune-kun is looking forward to that day with great anticipation, right Tsukune-kun?"

The attempt at a seductive wink from the still pre-pubescent witch made Tsukune's cheeks flush.

"I…um…"

Luckily only Ruby caught the stunned expression Kurumu sent his way before the succubus could hide it safely away.

Suddenly a firm voice rang out from the entranceway to the girl's dormitory.

"Quit picking on Tsukune Yukari-chan, you know he gets embarrassed easily when discussing girl topics."

Yukari turned to face her lovely accuser with a sly expression of admiration on her face.

"I wasn't picking on him, Moka-san."

For a moment, before he realized who had said that, Tsukune looked to be about to protest the rather lackluster assessment of his ability to discuss "girl topics", but he cut off the urge the second he saw the silver-haired beauty, flanked by the also exquisite Mizore and Kokoa, each with boxes in their hands.

Again Kurumu had to work to suppress an errant expression from forming on her face.

Yukari took his temporarily stupefied state as a chance to tease him further, rushing up to hug and rub against him.

"I know he can't wait for my flower to fully blossom so that the three of us can finally be the trouple we were meant to be, hehe!"

Tsukune blushed now profusely as he stammered out a vague-sounding response.

"You say these things…."

Moka sent Yukari a disapproving look as she put her box next to the others, which made Yuakri part reluctantly from Tsukune, even as she continued to smile viciously about the successful teasing, and touching.

Kurumu, Ruby, and Mizore exchanged odd expressions about something Yukari had just mentioned.

"A…. trouple?"

Ruby, like usual, seemed to be the first to conjecture a meaning behind the unusual phrase.

"A three person…couple?"

Kurumu spun back angrily at the younger witch once she fully understood the meaning.

"No way squirt! The only trouple around here will be me, Tsukune-kun and….."

Inquisitive, wide-eyed looks followed the now completely embarrassed succubus as she turned abruptly away from their probing stunned glares.

Yukari, of course, couldn't let this luscious opportunity go. She saddled up beside the mortified succubus and used her words to dig deeply under her target's now thinned skin.

"Well, well, well ….which lucky one of us is going to be your wife Kurumu?"

Anger and embarrassment warred on her face as Kurumu spun to glare down at Yukari.

"I….I didn't mean….."

Tsukune, who had already begun loading the boxes into the minivan, turned now to address the rest.

"It would be Mizore-chan or Moka-san, they're Kurumu-chan's favorites, but she likes all the rest of you too."

Where before she had been mortified, now Kurumu was forced to cover her mouth to prevent a desperate scream from falling out.

"I…I didn't mean…"

To her only mild relief, all the now stunned eyes were on Tsukune instead of her, who looked back like he didn't understand why they were looking at him so oddly, or like he didn't even know what he had just said was odd in the first place.

Into the silent, void a shrill taunt escaped Kokoa's mouth as a vicious smirk creased her lovely features.

"Haha! BUSTED!"

Kurumu glared back at her over her pink cheeks to awkwardly try to defend herself.

"I just meant that…it would just be…"

Tsukune apparently had begun to feel the need to defend them both.

"Well, it's just Kurumu likes all of us. I don't think she'd not want us all together, like we are now. Right Kurumu-chan?"

It wasn't much of a lifeline, but Kurumu meekly took what help she could get.

"Um…yeah….sure."

Apparently satisfied he had successfully defused the situation, Tsukune went merrily back to loading boxes in the van.

Moka, on the other hand, had a surprising flush to her cheeks too and was avoiding direct eye contact with everyone.

"…interesting…"

She began passing boxes to Tsukune. As Kurumu found the courage to look at the others she saw sympathy from Ruby, got a rather embarrassing wink from Yukari, a vicious smirk from the self-satisfied Kokoa, and Mizore wouldn't even look in her direction. Like Moka, she too had a weird blush to her cheeks.

"So…..what all rooms do we still have left to pack up?"

Ruby was obviously ready to move on from the most recent cause of awkwardness and Yukari provided her with an answer for her question.

"We're completely done with Kokoa's, Mizore's, and my own rooms. There's only one box of stuff left in Moka's room too."

Moka sent Mizore a strange glare as she added on to Yukaris' comments.

"Mizore took care of Tsukune's room for him."

If she were bothered by the suspicious look from the vampire, Mizore hid it very well.

"Well, there's still a box or two left to bring down."

Mizore took the chance now to hand Tsukune back his dorm key as Moka's eyes squinted even more so at her.

As she walked around him, Mizore whispered into his ear on the side away from the others.

"I already boxed up your 'special' items. That box is still on your bed."

Tsukune tried hard not to let his strained feelings show as he replied back to her in low tones.

"I really appreciate it. Hope it wasn't too….well…"

Mizore let out a tinny giggle as she smiled warmly at him.

"Nothing too shocking, some of those I'd like to look at together with you, my Tsukune-kun."

Hearing the beautiful yukionna's last words Tsukune had to double down on his efforts to keep the shock off his face.

"Um…..I….uh….."

"ANYWAY!"

Moka, still leering at them both with suspicion and anger, had clearly had enough of their "unauthorized" intimate conversation.

"That leaves Kurumu's room left to do."

Seeing Mizore finally leave his side, Moka felt comfortable enough again to begin assigning work to the others.

"Yukari, Mizore, and Ruby; please help Kurumu with her stuff."

This drew a disappointed expression from Mizore.

"But she has way too much stuff!"

It drew an even more dramatic looking pout from the junior witch.

"It's true! It's true! She does have a lot of junk!"

Their harsh, if rather accurate assessment of Kurumu's property drew her immediate ire onto them.

"I DON'T HAVE ANY 'JUNK', THANK YOU! All my stuff is of the very best quality!"

The disbelieving look the yukionna and junior witch exchanged only made Kurumu angrier.

Moka ignored them and spoke to her sister next.

"Kokoa, finish loading the van and watch it while Tsukune and I get the last of our stuff."

Kokoa also had a slight pout when she heard this, but gave in to her beloved sister's commands.

"Sure thing Onee-sama!"

She suppressed her natural desire to spend time alone, helping her beloved Onee-sama, in favor of dutifully obeying her instead.

 _"Not like they'll be alone together anyway."_

She found comfort in the fact that Tsukune wouldn't be able to take advantage of her sister's kind nature since they'd be in separate buildings, technically anyway.

As he passed her he gave her a smile. Her normal response would be to stick out her tongue or verbally mock the weakling.

 _"But he's not a weakling, far from it."_

That tiny voice that always seemed to hound her whenever she thought about..."the Maggot" had been growing louder and more frequent these past few months. It had first spoken to her when the idiot ran into her on the first day.

She could smell that delicious blood even now, through his skin.

 _"That's it! I just want to drain him dry! That's all! That's natural for a vampire to feel!"_

It was always the excuse too. It was her excuse that day as she pummeled him for touching her chest. She always said it wherever she noticed...him.

Noticing him had become even harder not to notice over the last few months.

She could still ignore him if she tried hard, but those walls were crumbling by the day.

Was she really concerned for Onee-sama alone with him, or ABOUT Onee-sama being alone with him?

 _"No! No! No! He's a Maggot! A sister stealing Maggot!"_

She tried to wash whatever blank look she had just sent him off her face and replace it with her normal scowl of hate, but it only made him grin more back at her as he proceeded past her.

 _"Damn you Aono Tsukune! Damn you!"_

She desperately wanted to hate him again. Her hate for him was her safety from him.

 _"...otherwise."_

She shook her head violently and scowled as she turned to load the boxes.

She would not allow herself to examine..."otherwise".

The rest of the group headed back inside to finish the last of the packing, as Kokoa, rather slowly, loaded the smallest and lightest boxes she could find.

She was too deep into her own self-denial attempts to notice the varying range of curious looks, some not too happy or friendly, that were now directed at her after that strange expression she had sent in Tsukune's direction just moments before. Luckily for her, her precious Onee-sama wasn't among those looking at her with new-found suspicions.

* * *

Moka entered her dorm room for probably the last time and noticed the single open box left on her bed.

Then she corrected herself.

 _"Not my bed, not really."_

Her eyes drifted over the all too familiar room.

 _"Not my room either."_

Her eyes fell onto the desk she had used for the last time just hours before their departure to Hong Kong.

 _"Also, not my desk, or any of my stuff."_

The desk wasn't really hers. It was the property of Yokai Academy like all the rest of the ubiquitously ugly furniture in the now almost empty room.

She would miss that at all.

For her….the 'real' her, the one now free forever from the prison of the rosary, the life that "other" her had lived was just like a movie she had been forced to watch for the last four and a half years.

She had been immersed into that person's life, but not an active participant in it.

 _"…mostly."_

Moka couldn't bring herself to call that other her…by that other name.

Akasha Bloodriver was her mother. A warm and loving mother that sacrificed everything to protect her daughter and the world.

That other "her"? Someone who, though protecting Moka, suppressed her for years, had taken the life that was meant for her, the friends, the experiences.

 _"….him too?"_

They had shared them all in a strange way, but it had always been the other her that took the lion's share as her own.

 _"Not anymore."_

She couldn't think about the wider implications of that strange and now ended relationship now, not yet.

Time would tell her what was really hers and what had belonged to that…"other" her.

She didn't think she would ever believe that that other her had been….her mother.

Last night still didn't seem real. She wondered if it ever would seem real to her. In some ways she hoped it would always seem like a bad dream.

 _"My mother…is really dead now. She's really gone….forever, this time."_

The thoughts were not eliciting the emotions her mother deserved from her only child, and it angered her that she couldn't give her mother the grief she richly deserved.

 _"Had I really let go of her all those years ago?"_

The tears were in her somewhere, she knew it, but she was too numb to bring them forth, at least for now.

Only pictures remained on what had never really been her desk now. Happy faces staring back at her with glowing eyes and warm smiles.

 _"Not really even my pictures."_

In every picture, that "other" her's face stared back at her, almost mockingly. The one with the "other" her and Tsukune particularly rankled at her as she held it in her hands.

 _"Was he hugging me, or my mother, or that 'other' me in this picture? I don't really know who that person was anymore. Was it ever really me or just her alone?"_

She hated the "grayness" of it all, the uncertainty. Clear facts, in black and white, no gray areas, no indecisiveness or confusion, that was what she preferred. There were no doubts when you were clearly right and your opponent was clearly wrong.

She detested self-doubt in all it's forms as a sign of weakness. She hated weakness, and her doubts now about her own existence made her loathe even herself a bit.

She suddenly felt moisture on her face.

 _"This you can cry over?"_

She angrily wiped away a tear and she placed the picture between two stacks of papers.

* * *

Tsukune had two boxes on his own bed, one taped firmly up, the other still open wide.

 _"Well, Mizore certainly took care of my special items for me."_

She wanted to show him he could trust her with anything, but he already knew that about her.

Only photos were left on his desk to pack away now.

The one of him with his parents and Kyoko went in first.

The second was of the whole gang together. Like the previous photo, it went into the open box with a smile on his own face as he looked at it.

He was truly grateful they had all made it home alive.

 _"ALL OF US!"_

That emphatic thought accompanied a glance at the final photo left to be packed.

 _"THERE IS ONLY ONE!"_

He clutched her image to his chest but the tears still escaped his eyes. He took a few calming breathes and then managed a smile as he bravely looked down on her image once more.

 _"Yes, we ALL made it back…..alive."_

It was the truth, he told himself.

 _"There is only one Moka!"_

Even if that wasn't the truth, he would make it the truth.

He would show her all the love he felt for both versions of her was still hers to own. He would make it reality. He would force it to be the truth, even if it wasn't

He owed her nothing less.

Thus he could not allow himself to even consider that the one and the other could have been entirely different people.

...otherwise.

He instantly buried that possibility inside his mind and forcefully made himself move on.

He carefully packed the photo away and sealed up the box before stacking it on the other one to make them easier to carry.

He took one more look around the room that had been his place of rest for the better part of the last two years, and couldn't entirely escape the melancholy of leaving this part of his life behind him.

 _"The one thing I'll really miss about this room….."_

Maybe he could feel her watching him. They had done it so many times before.

She had an expression on her face like she was embarrassed he had caught her in the act, but she soon smiled back warmly at him and waved.

He returned the smile and wave as they had always done before.

 _"There IS only one Moka!"_

It wouldn't be their last smile and wave for one another, far from it, but they both had to feel that this was the last time it would be here, high over the courtyard that separated Yokai Academy's boys and girls dormitories from each other.

Surprisingly he welcomed the sadness into his heart as much as the joy.

 _"…..the very best view EVER!"_

Moka put her hand on her window now and he followed her example.

Her lips said what he couldn't hear, but he certainly could feel.

"I love you."

There was only one correct response.

"I love you, too."

Moka pulled away with a slightly sad smile, waved once more, picked up her box, and walked out of her dorm room for probably the last time.

Once her door was finally closed Tsukune allowed another set of tears to stream down his face.

 _"You're so strange, you'll be living in the same house together with her now. You will only get closer to her now."_

He looked back up to get one final look before retreating to the men's room to make sure he removed all evidence of errant emotions from his face.

There she was again, hand on the window, sad little smile on her face.

Had she forgotten something?

Surely she could see his tears now?

Yet his sudden embarrassment turned to shock and then to desperation.

The hair was that familiar warm pink, and the eyes were the perfect emerald shade of green.

As the realization hit him, his heart tried to fly out of his chest.

"Moka…..chan?"

She tilted her head with that gorgeous sad little smile of hers.

He couldn't believe his eyes, though he desperately wanted to.

Then her perfect lips mouthed the words he most wished he could hear her say.

"I love you."

Then as if she had never been there, she was gone.

Every synapsis in his body screamed for him to burst through both sets of windows, but he could not bring his body to move. His teeth ground down in his mouth as he clenched his jaw to fight off the roar of despair that he felt welling up inside him threatening to burst from his lungs.

The air itself hurt to breathe.

He had felt rage before, but nothing like this.

Only minutes later did he look down at his right hand to see three of the rosary's relatively smooth-edged cross points had been dug so forcefully into his palm skin that he was now bleeding all over it and the floor too.

He couldn't even remember having taken it out of his pocket.

Having been so tightly wound up, he now collapsed in a heap on the dorm room floor. He would lay there for several more minutes before he realized the others would come looking for him if he didn't move soon on his own.

Only then did Tsukune find the reserves of strength to move once more, despite the weight bearing down on his own heavily-burdened heart.

He couldn't let despair have him, for her sake if not for his own.

She deserved nothing less from him.


	11. Short Day IX

Kokoa had long since finished loading the minivan and now all that was left for her to do was guard duty against a boogieman who would never come.

 _"Not like anyone still here during the Summer break would want any of this garbage."_

She included all her meager effects in that description with the others' personal items too. Kokoa liked to travel light. Her belongings from her dorm didn't even fill half a box, minus a few items of clothes that needed to be hung instead of folded.

The air conditioning in the dorms was never very good, but it had to be better than the dusty outside heat she was now sweltering in by herself. As sweat trickled down the back of her neck and her back, soaking through her top and bra, she was glad the minivan rear hatch was at least keeping the sun directly off her as she sat there brooding. She was sweaty everywhere and tempted to go just inside the doorway of the girls' dorm, but that wasn't what her Onee-sama had asked her to do.

At that moment she heard the door to the dorms open and stood up to see him approaching her carrying two boxes.

"Took you long enough! Where's Onee-sama?"

She was determined not to let her mind wander off tangentially about "him" as she had earlier. She was her usual gruff self and intended to stay that way with him, mind, body, and soul.

"She probably stopped to help pack Kurumu's room up."

Kokoa let out a frustrated sigh.

"That will take the rest of the afternoon! I'm hot and I'm starving!"

After she snatched the top box away from him angrily and dumped it roughly into the remaining space in the back of the van, Tsukune placed the other box more delicately beside it and took the chance to stretch after freeing himself of his cargo. As he did so, Kokoa's eyes betrayed her intentions and reflexively focused on his bodily form.

 _"He's certainly not bad to look at. STOP THAT! He's a MAGGOT you idiot! Just keep that thought in your head, idiot!"_

She angrily crossed her arms and leered at him as if he had somehow magically made her eyes and thoughts betray her will, but something reached her then that made her instantly drop all her pretenses.

 _"Oh MY! Is that smell his….."_

Tsukune was suddenly stunned to feel Kokoa's hands as they began patting him down like he was a criminal under arrest.

"Um…..can I help you find something?"

With her hands rubbing him forcefully and her nose also sniffed about him frantically, she seemed almost like a bloodhound on the scent of its prey.

"YEAH! You're cut somewhere, I can smell it!"

This made him blush even more so in embarrassment as she appraised him with a look similar to a wine expert sniffing in a glass.

He replied to her statement with a reluctant and awkward tone.

"Oh…..yeah….I cut myself in my dorm room. Nothing serious. I've already washed it off."

He held out his right palm and to his surprise, she nearly pulled him off his feet when she grabbed it and began sniffing it vigorously.

"It was just a scratch, plus it's already healed. It's going to be a while before I get used to healing so fast."

The look of disgust and skepticism she looked up at him with as she clutched his hand intently under her face was nearly painful for him to see.

"Just a scratch, huh? That's crap and you know it! I smell your blood everywhere, and so will Onee-sama, you idiot!"

He didn't have time to pout over his scolding or defend his actions as he again became deeply embarrassed by her nearly putting her entire face into the palm of his hand.

"I can smell blood all over your hand….and…."

Never releasing his hand her head went to his right side and began sniffing at his right pants pocket. Before he knew it her hand was deep inside it. She then pulled out the rosary and after a brief awkward look she held it up to his face with a defiant look of vindication on her face.

"Just for your 'new vampire' education, you can't cover up the smell of blood with hand soap idiot; especially blood as….noticeable as yours."

If he noticed her awkward blushing at the end of her emphatic statement, he was too embarrassed himself to mention it.

"Oh…..I didn't…"

She finally released his and used her now free hand to accusingly point into his face.

"Up until yesterday, there was no need for you to know."

She then crossed her arms and twisted her expression into a disgusted version of contemplation.

"Here's more vampire education for you."

Her mannerisms, despite being a year younger than he was, was far too reminiscent of his Kyoko-nee scolding him when they were children.

"The only thing that makes the smell of blood go away quickly so a vampire can't detect it is vampire saliva."

For some reason, she again began to blush, despite her haughty manners.

"Really? Vampire spit?"

He couldn't help his skepticism, but her reignited anger made him back up a step or two from her fury.

"Well, Worm, if you think about it using an actual brain it makes sense!"

She backed away slightly and explained it to him like he was a three-year-old.

"After a vampire has gone through all the trouble to find a nice, juicy Human to suck on….."

She blushed again while saying this weird statement, but Tsukune winced instead at the reference to humans being "juicy".

"Um….nasty….."

His distaste at the concept didn't slow her explanation down at all.

"…..why would they want to share them? One vampire can live off a healthy Human for that Human's whole natural lifetime without really harming that Human in the least bit."

He almost looked like he was going to faint or vomit as she continued her words, conveniently forgetting the fact that he had happily been the "juicy" human in Moka's life for most of the last two years.

"Two or even three vampires can share one Human and as long as the Human is taken care of and fed properly, they'll live fairly normal lives."

She continued in a professorial fact-filled manner, oblivious to his building discomfort about this topic.

"But one Human and four or more vampires and…..well…that won't last very long."

When she was done, she looked mildly surprised to see his disgusted expression.

"Um….yeah, I suppose not."

After again looking at him as if he were a strange creature from the depths of the sea floor, she turned a nervous eye back toward the girls' dorm.

"We'd better take care of this before Onee-sama comes down and smells your blood."

Her eyes drifted down nervously to the main entranceway.

"Looks like the coast is clear."

Tsukune had a look of confusion now as she turned back to face him with an odd expression.

"Clear for what?"

She blushed profusely now as she pouted, but she didn't answer him. Instead, she shocked him once more by retaking his hand…and licking it.

"Um…..what the…"

He was too stunned to even form coherent words. Seeing this she stopped briefly to look up at him with a disapproving glare over her still pink cheeks.

"Idiot! Don't just sit there babbling like a moron! Keep an eye out for any of them coming down the steps!"

Then she merrily returned to licking his palm, fingers, and webbing as he tried not to cry out at the strange sensations. She couldn't keep the smile and look of pure delight off her face even a little.

 _"Oh MY! Why does even his blood's microscopic residue have to taste sooooo damn good! It's sooooo delicious! He's like vampire candy! Why did he have to go and wash all that succulent liquid blood off first? It would have been ten times better still! Oh, God help me! I love his blood soooooo much!"_

Even Tsukune wasn't so oblivious as to not note the joy Kokoa was experiencing as her tongue and lips happily searched every nook and cranny on his hand for the tiniest leftovers from his hemoglobin. He'd never seen a cat happier to lap up fresh fish than Kokoa looked to have a piece of him under her probing tongue.

Down lower, something began to stir within him. Something he couldn't stop unless she stopped very soon.

"Um…so….how long will this take?"

She again glared up angrily at him, as if he had woke her up in the middle of a wonderful dream.

"A lot longer if you keep making me stop to answer stupid questions every three seconds!"

Instantaneously as her tongue retouched his flesh her joy returned to her expression. Tsukune, however, was near his emotional breaking point. A beautify woman, no matter how mean she was to him, was licking him, with a passion. This was getting very "dangerous" now.

"UMMMM!...UMMMM!"

She was nearly purring like a kitten now and doing a good impression of one too as her tongue luxuriously traced a path up each of his fingers in turn.

 _"Please don't come downstairs girls, not now! How would I ever explain away Kokoa making-out with my fingers?"_

After a few more moments the joy in her expression slowly faded away and after a few more seemingly desperate, probing licks she finally pulled back with a sad and unsatisfied expression showing. For a brief moment, a sudden glint in her eyes made him think she was contemplating biting him so as to get to the real thing hidden from her mouth just under his skin. When she suddenly moved in again he jerked slightly, but she only sniffed his hand a few times.

"Ummmm…so yeah…um…..smells okay now. Just don't put your hand anywhere near Onee-sama's face."

She began to blush and pout angrily again, as if she too were now suddenly ashamed of what she had just been doing to him.

"Um…okay."

For his part, Tsukune was just glad the….."erotic" ordeal was over. It's not like he didn't know Kokoa was beautiful, she was sisters with Moka so how could she not be, but he didn't want his mind to stray too far in that direction and what had just happened dragged his mind further down that path than ever before. His heart still was pounding violently inside his rib cage. He thought it was doing so mostly because of his fear of being caught, but he couldn't lie to himself completely and say that Kokoa's actions alone wouldn't have produced the same effects.

Kokoa then looked down at her left hand and put the long end of the rosary in her mouth like it was one of Mizore's cooling pops.

She again looked like it tasted great to her, but a certain amount of unbridled joy she had expressed before wasn't there this time. When she pulled it back out to place one of the shorter three cross arms in her mouth, she stopped long enough to ask him a chiding question.

"Ummmmm….You didn't put this in your pocket before you washed it, did you?"

He bashfully shook his head, strangely trying to avoid direct eye contact with her.

"Um…..no."

After she was satisfied with her work on the rosary she somewhat reluctantly handed it back to him and he quickly rehid it deep in his pocket.

"Well…I don't smell it on this or your hand anymore, but I still smell it a little. Did you touch the boxes or your clothes with your hand before washing it?"

She started reexamining his clothes with her eyes and hands as he tried to keep her away from near the front of his pants.

"I didn't touch the boxes till I came back in the room from washing my hands."

She sent him another skeptical smirk.

"I don't see or smell anything on your clothes either."

As she stood back up she suddenly seemed to have a revelation.

"Oh! Of course! It's your other hand. You rubbed them together when you were washing the blood off in the sink. Some of the blood got on it before the soap could wash it off."

As she took his left hand now and sniffed it a victorious look swept her features once more. Tsukune's mortified expression as she began sucking and licking on yet another part of his body didn't faze her any more than it had early.

"UMMMMM….Keep an eye on the door Dumb-ass."

Except for that brief irritated exchange she again seemed like she was on Cloud Nine. She didn't even raise her voice at him this time. She even sounded almost pleasant just then.

"Um…..yeah….on it."

After a few moments more she pulled away from the hand with a sad expression as if someone had taken her favorite toy from her.

"I don't smell any blood now, looks like that has fixed you up."

She then turned her back on him and crossed her arms seemingly in her usual irritated mood once again. From his perspective, she seemed annoyed with him as normal. He couldn't see her blushing cheeks or the warring emotions on her mostly happy face.

 _"That was…"_

She wouldn't allow the words "wonderful", "thrilling", or "hot" to form in her mind, not for that "Maggot", but her body had certainly reacted positively towards the whole thing. She could no longer be certain it was just the heat causing her perspiration now. Inside her chest, her heart was practically flying.

As she struggled to regain her composure outside of his direct line of sight, Tsukune finally recovered his own composure enough to thank her.

"Um…thanks. I really appreciate it."

That he said it so shyly, in reference to something so intimate for her, only made her skin flush another, deeper shade of pink.

"Um…..well….it's really not a big deal."

It was a big deal, but she certainy didn't want him to know it.

"Yeah…but….thanks all the same."

Still unable to face him, she did manage to reapply disgust back into her voice now.

"You just make sure you keep this between you and me! You got that Maggot?"

Tsukune scratched awkwardly at the back of his head as he meekly replied.

"Um…sure thing. Not really anyone I think I'd ever want to tell about this anyway."

It was exactly what he should say in this situation, but Kokoa felt tears well up in corners of her eyes. It shouldn't mean anything to him beyond help. It shouldn't mean anything to her at all in the first place but a free snack, but a lump of disappointment that he could so easily dismiss what had just happened between them formed in the pit of her gut.

 _"Why does it hurt?"_

She took the fuel that surprising disappointment gave her and rounded on him with an angry finger jabbing him on the nose.

"Well….GOOD! Now let's just hope Onee-sama doesn't walk onto the boy's side of the dorms and get a whiff of blood from that bathroom sink."

Tsukune's eyes went wide with shock as he remembered something else.

"Let's hope she doesn't, I might have dribbled some blood on my dorm room floor also."

Kokoa nearly gabbed her finger up his nostril when she heard this.

"WHAT? You idiot!"

"Why are you two arguing already?"

They both spun like guilty children caught by their mother at the sound of Moka's voice.

Kokoa was the first to recover from the other girls' sudden appearance.

"Oh! Onee-sama! I was just letting Tsukune here know about the rules for all of us living together! He won't be bothering you. Will you Maggot?"

Before he could manage a reply, Yukari's laughter filled the air.

"Haha! Like you'd be the one to make the rules?"

Usually, Kokoa would confront Yukari head on, but she instead refocused on Moka.

"Here, let me get those boxes for you Onee-sama."

Moka, her arms full, shook her head at her imouto and tilted her head in the direction behind her.

"No need, help the others."

Kokoa clearly didn't want to help anyone but her beloved Onee-sama, so she was quite put off when a weak looking Kurumu abruptly dropped her own load into her arms.

Kurumu then glared angrily at Kokoa and spoke to her in a vicious but low tone only they could hear.

"Here, since you like putting your...hands on things that don't belong to you."

Kokoa screamed out in indignation at her suddenly filled arms, and the strange but rather eerily accurate words of rebuke the tired looking succubus had just said to her.

"OW! A little warning next time!"

She had been even more surprised by Kurumu's angry words, but since she didn't know for certain why the succubus would say something like that to her, it was best to just confront her rudeness with the boxes instead. Doubt lingered in her mind though.

 _"Did she see us?"_

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Kurumu, clearly not in a good mood, ignored her and kept walking toward the van. As the other's started finding what space was left to put the remaining boxes in, Ruby leaned into Kurumu's ear to whisper.

"Yeah, what was that statement about?"

Kurumu certainly wasn't going to discuss it further now.

"I'll tell you the details later. Let's just say for now….."

Kurumu and Ruby both looked back at where Kokoa was fussing at Tsukune, who had offered to take the boxes that had just been Kurumu's burden.

"….for someone that supposedly hates our Tsukune-kun, she sure doesn't act that way when there's no audience around."

Ruby's eyes widened in mild surprise at this bit of news.

"Oh! Really?"

"Really what?"

Both jumped a bit at the sudden appearance of Moka between them.

"Oh! We were just…..um….."

Ruby jumped in to give the stumbling Kurumu a lifeline.

"…just saying she's ready to get back to the house to cook dinner. I have to admit being tired myself."

Moka and Kurumu both looked at Ruby with some sympathy. Just the night before she had been in critical condition after the battle. It was the healing power of Moka's blood that was the only reason Ruby wasn't still in intensive care right now.

Moka then refocused on Kurumu with a skeptical look. The same look she had sent her when she insisted on carrying some boxes down to prevent the need for a second trip back up to her room.

She couldn't help feeling guilty at how little relative damage she had taken last night while these two were struggling to stay on their feet now.

"You sure you feel up for that?"

In the middle of packing up her room about twenty minutes before Kurumu had suddenly passed out. She was catatonic for about five minutes and it was near the point where Moka was ready to call for the Hospital Annex ambulance that Kurumu suddenly reawakened.

Kurumu now sent her expression of sympathy back a mildly irritated smirk.

"I'm fine now, honestly. There's no way I'm letting any of you floozies cook Tsukune's first dinner in our new home, so just get that idea out of your heads."

Ruby and Moka knew it was all bravado, just like her insisting on carrying boxes down, but they were willing to let it go for now. They both certainly understood why Kurumu didn't want Tsukune to see her in a weakened condition. They both understood her since of pride.

"I really am quite hungry actually."

Ruby added on to Moka's statement.

"Me too! It's been a very long day. I'm ready to get in the tub and soak…..after Kurumu's wonderful dinner of course."

Yukari's sudden voice made the three girls' vision refocus in her direction.

"We're all going to go down and get in the onsen tonight, RIGHT?"

Only the two vampires didn't seem super excited by this suggestion.

After he put the last box down, Yukari suddenly pounced upwards at him to wrap her arms around Tsukune's neck.

"Of course our Tsukune-kun is going to join us, since it's technically his house and all, right?"

Most of the others' eyes began to glow in anticipation at that inticing prospect. After all, onsens are traditionally all nude environments, and non-gender specific.

Feminine voices rang out in a joyous chorus.

"YEAH!"

"No! Absolutely not!"

There was always one wet blanket in every crowd and Moka wore the title with odd pride. Her emphatic declaration drew mostly angry or disappointed glares in her direction.

Yukari pouted with tears near the corners of her eyes as she tried to beg her idol to reconsider.

"Moka-san! Why not?"

Kurumu added her own weight to the discussion.

"Yeah? What's the advantage of living in the same house with Tsukune-kun if we don't get to…."

Tsukune was already violently embarrassed by the new discussion, so Kurumu's mid-sentence seductive wink at him only turned the heat up for him.

"…..enjoy his…um….."

Mizore stepped in to finish Kurumu's statement for her.

"Companionship."

Moka's fiery red eyes fell harshly on the disappointed faces of the succubus and the yukionna.

"You'll have a hard time enjoying anything with my shoes up your backsides!"

Kurumu, despite her weakened state, was defiant as always.

"Bring it on you old Prud!"

Always the peacemaker, Ruby stepped between them before it could escalate further.

"Ladies! We're all a little tense right now and I think it has more to do with being tired and hungry than with whether Tsukune can join us in the onsen."

Moka's expression clearly indicated she thought a naked Tsukune in the onsen was the major issue, even if no one else did.

"Why don't we reexamine the onsen situation AFTER we've had a chance to eat and relax?"

All the other girls rolled their eyes in frustration as Ruby continued to try to defuse the tensions.

"If it's the nudity that's bothering you Moka-san, then perhaps we just all wear our bathing suits?"

Mizore, Kurumu, and Yukari seemed offended by the concept of bathing with any clothes on. They spoke as one in this regard.

"Bathing suits…what the…?"

"Well, …that could be acceptable."

At Moka's partial concession Ruby sent the other three a raised palm of warning to keep them from make a hasty reply and ruin the progress just made.

Into the brief silence, a smug looking Kokoa interjected her opinion with a wry smile.

"Well, that's better, because there's no way I'm getting naked in front of the Maggot!"

Kurumu squinted viciously at the younger vampire as her sarcastic words only came out at a volume for her nearest companions to hear clearly.

"At least not with any of us other girls around, right Tsundere?"

As Mizore and Yukari snickered in response to her words, Kokoa's skin grew red hot and rage filled her face.

"What did you just say? Huh? WHAT?"

Kurumu defiantly leered back at her with her arms folded over her ample breasts.

"I'm not in the habit of repeating myself."

Only now did Yukari and Mizore seem to realize Kurumu wasn't just teasing Kokoa. Suddenly both of them began looking on with renewed interest at the building tension between Kurumu and Kokoa.

Mizore leaned in to whisper to the young witch beside her.

"Wonder what that's all about?"

Yukari never took her eyes of Kokoa, who seemed equal parts enraged and embarrassed.

"I don't know, but I plan to find out."

In frustration, Moka covered her hands with her face before roaring out at all of them.

"Anyway, people! Let's get moving! It will be dark soon! I for one am done!"

Tsukune, who had very strategically hidden behind the van, pretending to rearrange the cargo, finally braved the estrogen filled battlespace.

"The van is almost completely loaded, but we have a small problem."

Yukari's eyes fell instantly on the completely filled rear and middle seats of the minivan.

"There's only room for one person to ride with Tsukune-kun on the way to the house! It's true! It's true!"

"Actually, there's only room for Tsukune now."

Mizore said this calmly as she dropped the last two boxes into the previously empty front passenger seat.

More than one voice groaned out when they saw her do that.

"Well, looks like we're walking then."

Several of the girls who had witnessed Kurumu's collapse minutes before sent her concerned and sympathetic looks now.

Tsukune had a quick suggestion to fix the issue.

"I guess I'd better drive this up to the house and unload it right quick. That way I can come back and pick you guys up."

Moka shook her head at this notion.

"There's no need for that. We walk nearly this far to class every day, we can walk back. It's less than two kilometers away."

If need be she'd carry Kurumu back. She had made them promise not to mention her collapse to Tsukune, and since they all were very concerned for his sake too they had reluctantly agreed to Kurumu's request.

"Well, if you're sure….."

Before he could finish he was distracted by Mizore's sudden appearance at his right side.

"Oh Tsukune-kun, I still have one more item to transport; but I want you to put it behind your back."

He quickly agreed to do so as it appeared she was holding just a body-length pillow behind her back, plus he had nowhere else to put it either.

"Um….sure.

"Oh damn! Not that thing."

Kurumu seemed to recognize the pillow instantly, intensifying the other girls' interest in it.

Mizore proudly handed Tsukune the pillow with a devious little smile and an only slightly embarrassed blush on her normally alabaster cheeks.

Only when he looked down and saw that the pillow cover was a full body image of himself did Tsukune's own cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment too.

"It's my favorite pillow and my very favorite pillowcase. Take extra special care of it, please. It has the image of my future husband on it."

"Oh! Oh wow! Is that…..?"

It was the image of Tsukune in his school uniform, laying on a bed, His tie pulled down, his shoes off, and his jacket nowhere to be seen.

Mizore wasn't done though.

"Of course it's you, my Tskune-kun! Look at the other side."

As Tsukune, red-faced, contemplated not doing as she asked, the other girls looked on in various expressions of anger or jealousy.

"She actually wants to show him that? She's brave, I'll give her credit."

Yukari couldn't help but add her private thoughts onto her public words.

 _"Where did she get that? I want one too!"_

Only now did Tsukune slowly turn the pillow over. Before he made it all the way through, he had caught enough of the image on that side not to want to continue further.

 _"Was that me in a speedo?"_

He braved an embarrassed smile for the glowing yukionna before him.

"Um….well….that's nice…thanks…very flattering."

She then leaned in, pressing the pillow between their bodies.

"It's the best pillowcase ever. I hug it all night long and dream that it's really you."

"Hell! She's proud of that damn thing!"

Like Yukari though, Kurumu's private thoughts didn't align perfectly with her public words.

 _"That bitch! I wish I had one. I'll make her tell me where she got it for sure now!"_

Mizore gently took the pillow out of the mortified Tsukune's hands and lovely arranged it in his driver's seat.

"The only thing it's missing is real Tsukune scent. Here, now you can have a nice, comfortable seat right here. Feel free to take your shirt off too. I don't mind at all if you sweat all over it."

She then turned around and stared at him with feral lust in her eyes.

"In fact, I insist you sweat on it, profusely."

"Where did she even get such a thing?"

If Ruby's curiosity was more than academic, she hid it well from the others.

Kurumu already had a good guess of the perpetrator behind the manufacture of this pillowcase was.

"….really? Take one guess."

It didn't take long for the other girls to answer again in the chorus.

"…GIN!"

Ruby looked away now as naughty thoughts entered her mind too.

 _"I wonder if Gin could get me one?"_

Despite not removing his shirt as she would have preferred, Mizore seemed happy as Tsukune awkwardly sat in the driver's seat and leaned back into the pillow.

"Now it's a warm day so don't be afraid to sweat all over it."

His awkward smile never reached his still mortified eyes.

"Okay, even from you, I think that's a bit much."

His words didn't faze her at all.

"Nonsense! Your comfort is of paramount importance. Just relax and sweat away!"

Moka looked on in rage and Kokoa in disgust, but even Kokoa's mind wandered a bit too now.

 _"I bet that pillowcase would smell even more awesome with just a little of his blood on it too."_

Moka's angry expression then took on a strange look of her own.

 _"I can't believe I'm thinking this but, I'd like one of those that smelled like Tsukune, maybe with a little of his blood on it."_

For some reason, the sisters' eyes met now. Both suddenly felt naked in the gaze of the other and quickly turned back away, just like they had in that awkward moment his room earlier.

Tsukune closed his door and called out to them after he started the engine.

"I'll see you guys up at the house. Hopefully, I'll have the van unpacked by the time you get there."

Moka replied for them all.

"Drive safe, see you there."

He pulled off and headed back down the dusty academy road in the direction that would lead them back to the Chairman's House.

As the dust cloud he made began to settle, Moka rounded back to address everyone.

"Well, we can't let Tsukune unload it all by himself. Let's follow him."

They all nodded and headed off in the direction the minivan had just taken.

Yukari and Kokoa were both disappointed when Moka chose to bracket Kurumu between herself and Mizore, instead of letting either of them escort her back. Yukari understood why though and fell in beside Ruby only a few steps behind the other three.

Kokoa though didn't know why her precious Onee-sama would choose her love rivals as companions over her, the loyal sister.

Then a twinge of guilt hit her. She hadn't been particularly loyal to her Onee-sama today, not by a long shot.

She pouted over it and slowly fell in behind the others.

She couldn't help but look at the other five and think that she really didn't belong with them.

After all, they all had that one major thing in common that she didn't share with them.

…..him.

It was only at her lowest emotional point that she noticed that the two witches were looking back to her with smiles, waiting for her.

Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel instantly better.

Still, she gave them her usual dismissive attitude as she joined them, never once seeing the knowing smiles the two witches exchanged as they all headed back to their new home…together.

* * *

Wearing gata and a five crested kimono wasn't how Gin liked to spend his evenings, but the old man had his quirks and traditional dress for relatively informal dinners was one of those quirks. Gin stopped in front of a doorway and gently rapped his knuckles against it. A few moments later Fumiko opened the door and bowed reverently to him.

"Welcome Ginei-san, please enter."

"Thank you, Fumiko-chan."

Katsura was waiting inside and also bowed to him before offering him refreshment.

"Would Ginei-san care for a beverage?"

"No thank you Katsura-chan and you three need to stop with the Ginei-san stuff. I'm the same Gin-kun you have always known."

As he spoke the elegant Yujiko led Haiji out of a back room. To say he looked awkward in his own five crested kimono would be an understatement. It was clear by his timid steps he wasn't used to the outfit yet, especially the gata. Yujiko then addressed Gin after her own respectful bow to him.

"Yes, the same Gin-kun we have always known, but also different now."

Katsura and Fumiko had Gin in a plush chair as Yujiko encouraged Haiji to do the same beside him.

"Indeed, our little Gin-kin is an impressive man now."

Katsura's adoring words made Haiji sneer at Gin.

"I wouldn't say 'impressive'."

Gin smirked back at Haiji as Katsura and Yujiko started to rub their respective shoulders for them. Gin had forgotten what it was like to be so pampered all the time.

Fumiko gently chided Haiji with a smile, knowing already this was how the two young men interacted together.

"Oh, but he is Haiji-san."

Haiji played along, clearly more comfortable with the three beautiful and mature women now than a few hours earlier.

"Just plain Haiji ladies, my father works for a living."

Gin knew that last part was a barb at him, the "trust fund kid", but he chose to ignore it as Katsura found a sweet spot and he let the sensation of her hands' work wash through him.

From over his shoulder, Yujiko praised their guest as well.

"And he now brings home impressive friends for us to entertain."

Haiji blushed suddenly under her approving words and smile and the other two ladies giggled in amusement. Gin could tell Haiji already had a favorite within this lovely grouping.

"If I didn't know better I'd think Yujiko-chan wants to keep you for herself Haiji."

This sent all three ladies into another round of subtle giggling and Haiji's skin flared bright pink.

A moment later Gin spoke up again.

"I have no real need to ask this because I already know the answer, but the ladies are treating you well so far?"

Haiji couldn't seem to stop blushing now.

"Um…far better than I deserve, that's for sure."

Again the ladies couldn't contain their amusement. It was clear they thought Haiji's bashfulness was very endearing.

"They treat us far better than any of us deserve. Did you enjoy your bath?"

Gin left his left eye open to see if Haiji would pass out from the last verbal assault he just sent his way.

"I…um…..well…"

His cheeks were almost fire-red now and the ladies were having a hard time covering their laughing mouths with just the one free hand now.

Gin sighed, satisfied he had thoroughly embarrassed his friend enough, at least for the time being.

"Pretty sure your incoherent response counts as an affirmative."

Fumiko then turned to address Gin in a respectful manner.

"Please forgive me Gin-kun, but I'm afraid you must leave a little early; you are expected on the next floor up."

This made Gin cock a suspicious eyebrow towards her.

"I am?"

Then sudden clarity came to him and he understood what she was trying to tell him.

"OH! They're back?"

She nodded to him as she confirmed his guess.

"Indeed, Tsukiko-san left specific instructions for you to come see her before dinner."

As Gin worked to hide his apprehension, Haiji asked an obvious question.

"Who's Tsukiko?"

Gin successfully avoided releasing a frustrated sigh before responding in an even sounding tone.

"My Aunt, or to be more specific my mother's twin sister and Mom's surrogate mother for Akaio and me when she's not here herself."

He closed his eyes again to enjoy Katsura's soft hands as he continued to speak.

"Mom and she raised all of us as one big family really. I hardly think of my cousins as anything but little sisters as well, really. Don't be alarmed if they're really affectionate with me."

Haiji didn't need to know the whole truth about his "unique" family and how close they all really were. He hoped what he had just said would mollify Haiji's curiosity to a manageable level for the rest of this visit.

"You mean like…..Akaio-san was?"

It was clear from his expression and awkward sounding words that Haiji was still mystified by just how affectionate Gin's sister had been.

Gin knew he was blushing now himself and the ladies' mild and understanding giggles came as their free hands covered their mouths once more. Surprisingly Haiji seemed to have a sympathetic expression for Gin. The thought of three more "Akaios" also hounding Gin clearly was something he found worthy of his sympathy.

Gin sighed as he responded.

"Does their laughter answer your question?"

Haiji swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yeah."

Katsura beamed downward lovingly at Gin from above as she added to the conversation.

"Akaio-san has always loved her little Gin-Gin-kun."

She even lovingly stroked his hair as she said this. His trademark hair band probably wouldn't be back on his head until he was back at the Academy.

"And Gin-kun's cousins try to outdo Akaio-san in their affections for him."

This made the ladies all smile and giggle once more.

Gin very reluctantly stood up then after warmly clasping Katsura's finger for a moment and asked Fumiko another question.

"I assume all three of my cousins are with her?"

She hesitated strangely for just a moment before answering.

"Um…..yes, they are."

Gin couldn't help but notice all three ladies suddenly seemed like they had made a grave mistake.

"I haven't been away long enough not to recognize that look, what's going on?"

Fumiko bowed quickly to him as did the others before answering him in a rushed manner.

"Oh, forgive us, please. It's not for us to say."

Gin wasn't going to be put off this easily though.

"Well, I just decided it IS your place to say."

From her place now at his left elbow, Katsura gently spoke to the other two ladies.

"We shouldn't be discussing family affairs in the first place."

Yujiko agreed with her as Haiji looked from her to Gin for some clarity on what was being discussed.

"Especially in front of dear Haiji-san."

Gin nodded with a frustrated expression on his face.

"OH! I see! You'd rather your little Gin-kun walk into an ambush?"

He knew long ago how to guilt these almost-surrogate mothers for him into doing or saying what he wanted them to.

"No! Oh…very well."

Katsura spoke up after Fumiko surrendered.

"Tsukiko-san and the twins are very excited you are back Gin-san."

Gin gave her a sideways glance then.

"That's to be expected, but there's something wrong with Ayako?"

"Who's Ayako?"

Gin gave Haiji a quick answer.

"My Aunt's youngest, she's…twelve now. Nami and Nishi are her older twin sisters; they'll be fifteen next month. Don't bother trying to tell them apart, it took me years and we were all raised together."

He then refocused on a downcast looking Katsura.

"So what's wrong with Ayako?"

"Well….it's just….."

Yujiko tried to finish Katsura's statement.

"When she found out you were here, she…"

When she failed to finish Gin turned his eyes on the last lady to give it a go. Fumiko looked as if her next words could cause Gin to die. The other ladies had similarly dreadful expressions.

"She said she hated you and didn't want to see you ever again."

They all instantly bowed to him as if telling him this caused him offense.

Katsura then quickly placed her hands on Gin's upper left arm and spoke in a slightly encouraged tone.

"Then she started crying and locked herself in her room."

Gin didn't find that as encouraging as Katsura seemed to.

"Well, that makes no sense. She's always been my little Ayako-chan. Maybe she's playing a game or something?"

The three ladies looked at Gin sympathetically, but it was clear they thought he didn't know what he was talking about.

"You do remember how sad she was when you left for the Academy?"

Gin answered Fumiko's sad sounding question.

"Well yes, but they all were. Akaio and the twins were sobbing like I was going off to die in war. Mom wouldn't even get out of bed to see me off."

"She….well she….."

Yujiko again took over for Katsura.

"She became…..a bit….."

It took Fumiko to finish the statement again though.

"Difficult?"

Katsura and Yujiko nodded as they replied in unison.

"Yes….difficult."

Fumiko nodded to as she addressed Gin directly again.

"Well…..since you left anyway."

It was clear from Gin's smirk that he either thought these three were insane or trying to trick him.

"She'll be fine. She's just been reminded of how she felt when I left, but once she sees me she'll be all smiles and kisses again."

Fumiko's doubtful expression didn't match her forced enthusiastic reply.

"Of course. We're sure she will be much brightened by your presence once more."

Whatever had been going on with Ayako the last two and a half years, it was clear from his confident demeanor that Gin thought he could fix it with relative ease. From their demeanors, it was clear the three ladies doubted it would be nearly as easy as Gin thought it would.

"Well, I better get up there with enough time to spare. The ladies will accompany you to the pre-dinner reception and I'll see you there Haiji."

Haiji sent him back a curious look as he replied.

"Um…okay. I'll see you there."

Gin must have thought Haiji was worried about him not being there to introduce him to Nokiba.

"Don't worry. I'll meet you in the entryway so you're not walking in blind."

Haiji nodded, but he was actually more worried for Gin over what might happen to him one level up. He rather tactfly chose to keep that to himself though.

Gin headed toward the door with Fumiko on his heels before he turned to ask her another question.

"Fumiko-chan?"

"Yes Gin-kun?"

"Where is everybody?"

She only seemed confused for a second before she began to answer.

"Your parents are…"

Gin stopped her with a slight hand movement.

"Sorry to interrupt you but Akaio explained where my parents and grandparents went, and I know Dad and Granddad are always flying around on company business anyway. I'm referring more to my other Aunts and cousins and Great-Aunts. I've never been here with so few family members present. What's going on?"

Yujiko answered him meekly and quietly, so their guest couldn't hear.

"I cannot say. We were not informed of the reasons for their departures. They're all scheduled to come back in a few days' time though. They will be very disappointed in having missed you."

It hadn't been a satisfying answer for him, but he accepted it.

"I see, alright then. I'll see you all upstairs."

* * *

Gin had made it almost back to the elevators when a melodic and familiar voice called out to him from behind.

"Gin-kun, please wait!"

Gin turned around with a happy smirk on his face as Katsura approached him with her own wonderful smile.

"I was wondering when you'd make your move."

Katsura blushed slightly as she smiled adoringly upward at him.

"So you have not completely forgotten your Katsu-chan?"

Gin wrapped her in a bear hug which she eagerly returned. He then lifted her off her feet which sent her into a fit of giggles.

"Never!"

As he put her back on her feet, he whispered into her ear as they continued to embrace.

 **"** Sure there's no hidden cameras around?"

"Of course not. I'd never be so familiar with you if there were."

When she pulled back only enough for them to look into each other's faces she lovingly put her hands on his cheeks.

"You are so handsome Gin-kun. I couldn't be prouder if you were one of my own sons."

Gin reached up and clutched her hands with his own.

"And you are just as beautiful as I remember."

She sent him back a slightly vicious looking smirk now.

"And you still lie so sweetly."

This was part of their usual banter when they couldn't be chided by others for the over-familiarity. The truth was he had always thought she was one of the most beautiful people he had ever known, inside and out.

"Not at all, you are just as I remember you. You were the very first woman I ever fell in love with!"

She playfully tapped him on the chest but was also slightly blushing in his adoring praise.

"Oh! Now I know you are a terrible liar! It's not nice to tease an old lady!"

Gin pulled her into him rather aggressively which made her eyes go wide for a second before she began to blush again.

"You're nowhere near old, and you know it's true! I was five when it happened but even now…."

He growled playfully into her ear as she patted him on the back to gently chide him.

"Stop that! Hehehehe! You're making me blush! And if your sister ever heard you say such things!"

When they had done this last he had been fifteen. He liked how him now being almost a full grown man doing the same exact same playful things with her seemed to be having a very different effect on her now.

He could sense that she was now physically and well as emotionally attracted to him.

He playfully nuzzled her on the neck, which made her wiggle slightly in his arm hold.

As he whispered into her ear he could feel her heat up like she never did before for him.

 _"That's right beautiful, I'm a full-grown man now, and you're still beautiful."_

He even let his lips rub against the delicate skin of her neck.

The truth was she had been the first person Gin had fallen in love with. Even now, when she was closer to sixty than fifty, she was still a gorgeous and desirable woman. She was one of those lucky few who never truly get old as they age.

Had Gin had less on his plate already he might have even made a move to fulfill his youthful desires.

"It's our secret. Now….."

He pressed his left hand into the small of her back, right above her buttocks, which made her sigh. He simultaneously traced a line up her back with his right fingers.

 _"I am a greedy bastard."_

He respected Katsura too much to give in to his desires for her, but he was selfish enough to want her to remember this tender moment for the rest of her life.

He then reluctantly pulled back from their embrace and sighed despondently, for more than one reason.

"I suspect you have more for me?"

It took Katsura a moment to compose herself after their warm exchanged. When she had she looked over her shoulder at the closed door to the guest quarters before answering him.

"Fumiko-chan could not say in front of Haiji-san since it is family business, but we all were ordered to leave yesterday morning. Nokiba-sama even paid to put all twelve of us and our families on buses, and we spent the night in the mountains at a company resort. The other servants and their families too."

Gin looked on with suspicious curiosity as Katsura told him more.

"He even sent some of the guards to watch over us. Needless to say, that's when the family members were sent away as well. I heard Tsukiko-san demanded to come back immediately when she heard you'd be here tonight. Rumor also has it that Nokiba-sama and most of the guards were the only people here when those…..awful things, attacked the city. We watched the whole thing on TV from a hundred kilometers away, what happened here and of course what happened in Yokohama."

It was clear from her expression that she had been worried about him.

"Hum…..I see. So the old buzzard knew something was going to happen? Interesting."

Katsura placed both her hands on Gin's kimono front and leaned in to give him a serious expression.

"You must not disrespect Nokiba-sama Gin-kun."

It sounded like she was more worried about his reputation than concerned he was disrespecting his ancestor.

"I know. Still, he knew something was going to happen. That's something I plan to learn more about."

Katsura's expression made it seem like she regretted telling him what she just did, but she was thinking in another direction

"And our precious Gin-kun must NOT put himself in such danger again as he did last night in Yokohama."

Tears were forming in her eyes, Gin pulled her tightly into him again. She snuggled into him as if their temporary physical separation had been painful for her.

"You all know about that already, huh?"

She laid her head gently on his chest and sighed deeply.

"We all saw you on TV! Battling that beast Alucard alongside the New Dark Lord. They didn't get a close-up of your face of course, but we all know our Gin-kun when we see him. We were, of course, very proud, but also very frightened for your safety. You must not do that again!

She had genuinely been afraid for him, as he knew she would be. She wasn't concerned for him because he was her boss's great-grandson, but because he was someone she had honestly loved and cared for all his life.

"So I made you proud, did I?"

Her praise meant more to him personally than anyone in his actual family.

"Of course! All the household was very proud, yet terrified for you! Think of all the tears if you had been gravely injured, or…."

Gin gently tilted her chin up towards him. Tears only enhanced her delicate beauty.

"It's enough for me that YOU were worried about me. I will try to behave more cautiously in the future, for your sake."

Even in tears, she was gorgeous. For a split second Gin almost kissed her on her lips, but at the last second, he diverted to her cheek.

 _"San, San deserves better from you!"_

Guilt washed over him from multiple directions then. San deserved his best, but so did Akayo, and so did Katsura.

He buried those errant thoughts deep inside his mind as quickly as he could and whispered into Katsura's ear.

"I'm still in love with you, you know?"

With tears on her cheeks but a smile on her face, she teased him gently.

"And you are still a wonderful and sweet liar."

Then she shocked him by kissing him on the lips and he thought he'd drop to the floor as he suddenly couldn't feel his legs under him. She had been the first woman he had ever wanted to kiss, and now she had kissed him herself.

It wasn't a kiss of passion though. It held nothing but love for him.

When she pulled back she touched her lips as if they had betrayed her, but awkwardly smiled back to a wide grinning Gin.

"I am….very proud of you. I always have been my sweet Gin-kun."

She lovingly touched his cheek again and then turned to return to Haiji's guest rooms as she pulled a handkerchief out to wipe her face.

A few steps from the door she turned to give him another bright smile before entering.

Gin waved back to her with a dazed smile.

 _"I would never lie to my Katsu-chan."_

* * *

A few seconds later and Gin was inside the elevator for the quick trip up one floor. In that brief interval, he allowed his thoughts to collate.

 _"He knew. He knew Osaka would be attacked as well. He sent everyone but the guards out of the city. Did he know about Alucard and Fairy Tail as well? He had to know about the other cities being attacked too since he knew about Osaka."_

The elevator doors opened and Gin stepped off.

 _"Wheels within wheels, always with you Great-Grandfather. What angle are you playing?"_

His thoughts continued to flow as his feet carried him down the hall on autopilot.

 _"I won't let you use my friends, hiiojiisama. Even if you THINK it's what's best for the family."_

In a low voice, he let his last thoughts on the topic slip from his lips.

"Whatever you're planning, I will somehow figure it out."

"Figure out what?"

"OH! Akaio…..I was just….."

She had snuck up on him quiet as the wind. Curly red locks now clasped behind her beautiful head by long pins.

 _"Why must you be so damn beautiful too?"_

Her light red kimono with dark red floral patterns held together by a silver obi. The repeating patterns in the silver obi made it look like lighter and darker shades.

Silver Shadows.

The literal meaning of the kanji that spelled his own name. No one at this gathering but Hajij could fail to understand the meaning behind that obi.

She was declaring to everyone that she belonged to him.

"Thinking?"

The vicious smirk she sent him let him know she thought that a dangerous activity for him to engage in.

"Um…yeah."

If she could hear his irritated tone, she expertly ignored it as she wrapped her arms around his right one.

"Let's hope it was about tonight. You'll be bedding down with me like you promised, right?"

Clearly their "alone time" together in the bath hadn't been enough to satisfy her needs. Gin expected as much though. She had always been possessive and adding physical intimacy to that mix had only multiplied her possessiveness.

In this situation though, Gin saw a chance to get in some rare teasing of his own against her.

"So that's why you're up here? To make sure Oba-chan doesn't have me bedding down with the twins?"

He thought he had landed a decent blow by the twisted up grimace she now displayed, but like usual her mind was on a different path than his.

"Hum! I'm more worried about her than them. They're older and obviously enthusiastic about you, but they're still young and a bit naive. Auntie Tsukiko-chan still does they're thinking for them."

She kept on complaining as they walked on.

"No, it's Oba-chan who would try to alter your sleeping arrangements and I'll not have it. Not tonight."

Gin just had to try to fluster her once more though, for the sake of his own pride if nothing else.

"There's not a small bed in the entire Residence. The four of us could sleep comfortably together without….

Akaio's despondent and desperate expression was all the reward Gin would need.

"NO! Absolutely not! I haven't seen you in over two and a half years! You are MY Gin-Gin-kun! They can wait for their turns and in their places!"

She had even become so angry she dropped her grip on him and pouted as she crossed her arms defiantly over her large bosom.

"Well damn, fine. I know better than to let you down Nee-chan."

Akaio wouldn't be thrown off her angry tirade by this simple concession though.

"Oh! And one more thing…"

"And what would that be, my Akaio-chan?"

A much softer voice than Gin's called out and Akaio's bad attitude seemed to melt away like it was a bad dream.

"Oba-chan! You made it back safe!"

To Gin's mild shock Akaio raced up happily to embrace their aunt whom she had only just seconds before been complaining about. In their generation, Akaio was clearly the Alpha female, but she practically rolled over onto her back for their aunt.

Akaio nuzzled their aunt, Morioka Tsukiko [森丘 月子], with a glowing smile. She looked on her niece as if she was a naughty girl that she secretly admired for her naughtiness. Then the two women went full on Lycan as aunt and niece licked each other on their respective faces and mouths. Gin knew this was a dominance thing among Lycan females, but its erotic overtones now made him very uncomfortable. It would be even stranger now when he saw her do this to their mother and father.

Tsukiko then used her hand to lift her niece's eyes up to meet her own, then after a few brief moments Akaio turned away meekly, but with a happy smile on her face. Satisfied at her niece's full submission to her, their aunt gently kissed her briefly on the lips and then told her in a low tone.

"Who's my favorite niece?"

Akaio blushed happily as she replied slightly springing up and down on her heels.

"I am, Oba-chan."

They then turned together, still embracing each other, to look at Gin, who was trying to hide how ashamed he felt at having been aroused by their previous display.

If the two females felt any shame over their make-out session it didn't show.

"How was your trip, Oba-chan?"

Tsukiko's eyes glowed with joy as she replied to her nephew.

"The trip was sudden and short, and now very much happily over with."

She then looked to her side to send her niece a conspiratorial wink.

"I can clearly see that Akaio-chan's equally brief journey was far more fruitful."

She broke her embrace with Akaio and sauntered up to her now taller nephew. When she was in arms reach she began to tear up.

"You are as beautiful as ever, Oba-chan."

Not only was she like a mother to him but she shared the same face. Outside of their significantly different personalities, the two women also wore their hair differently, with his aunt preferring shorter bob styles while their mother kept hers longer.

She reached up and caressed his cheek as her own tears finally fell down her exquisite face.

"Our silver boy, finally home. Our beautiful Ginei."

She flexed her toes and their lips touched. Gin couldn't help but notice that from behind their aunt his sister now had an unhappy expression. Akaio didn't share well, even with the women she loved and had to obey.

When their lips parted she wrapped him in her arms and he replied in the same manner. Their noses touched and then rubbed. Then she began to lick him around the mouth.

 _"She's submitting…to me?"_

Gin was stunned at first, as he had always submitted to her before now, but he too began to lick back. He realized that she was acknowledging him as a man, fully grown, and her future leader. After a few moments more she laid her face, still wet from the tears, gently on his chest.

She spoke softly after she sighed in utter contentment.

"And look at you now. Our silver boy is now a silver man, and finally home. How I have missed you."

She began to cry more as Gin stroked her hair. Even Akaio was tearing up now.

"I've missed you too."

At that statement, his aunt pushed back from him and sent him a feral smirk.

"You did, did you, really?"

The females of this clan were infamous for their rapid mood swings and the loving reunion was now apparently over.

Time for his punishment to begin.

"Well, we certainly couldn't tell that by your complete lack of presence or communication for over two and a half years."

He had also expected this too.

"Well, I….you see…"

Tsukiko had already turned on her heels and was heading back the way she had came with Akaio smirking back at Gin in her wake.

"You should have heard the excuses he was giving me, Oba-chan."

She grinned back at him as he sent her an angry look that practically called her a traitor.

"I can only imagine."

Gin tried to speak up in his defense.

"….really?"

They stopped at the large double doors that led into Tsukiko's private suit, which she shared with her daughters. Aunt and sister turned to send Gin incredulous and angry looks.

"Yes, really, and our reaction is mild compared to what you truly deserve for your unpleasant…aloofness….these last few years. You should be thankful for the fact that our joy at your return has tempered our displeasure with your unnecessary absence."

In reality, Tsukiko was the Alpha Female of their parents' generation. She had been the disciplinarian. Their own mother, Tsukiko's twin sister, was always a contented Omega at heart. Shy, gentle, loving. She even took care of Tsukiko's needs.

None of that changed though when their mother became the official Alpha Female. She still let her more aggressive sister run the show. They loved each other desperately and complimented each other well, but Tsukiko had some bitterness in her that the ultimate prize had not been hers.

Their mother was elevated above her sister because she had given birth to Gin, the only male of his generation.

As compensation, Tsukiko spent as much time monitoring Gin growing up as their mom. Gin thought he had two actual moms for the longest time as a child. Really they all did. The sisters each treated the children as their own.

Her anger with him now was because she had genuinely missed him.

"Well…I'm…I am very…"

Akaio rescued her brother from having to say sorry, by mildly attacking him.

"Good! Because you should be!"

Tsukiko sent her niece a knowing sideways glance before refocusing on Gin again.

"When I think of all the anguish you caused my poor sister, not to mention Akaio-chan and the rest of us."

Gin didn't feel like an Alpha Male anymore and his contrite and browbeaten expression was apparently pitiful enough for her to finally let him off the hook.

"But we'll say no more about it. You at least seem contrite, and we are so desperately happy you are finally home."

Both women turned back toward the door before they sent glances to each other with mild anxiety showing in their faces.

"You might find some are not as forgiving as we are."

Gin sent his sister a curious look, wondering if that was her way of warning him about Ayako's bad mood.

"Are you ready to see your cousins?"

Gin, so used to doing things his way after almost three years on his own, almost exasperatedly asked if he could just call them what they were, his sisters, but his mind wasn't numb enough yet to let something that risqué slip out in a moment like this, even if no one present would object.

This was a proudly incestuous family, especially the women.

"As ready as I can be."

They walked inside the entrance way and took their shoes off to be replaced by slippers. Before he could move to open the doors that led further in his aunt stopped him with a palm on his chest.

"Stay here till we've had our fun with the girls."

Tsukiko and Akaio walked into the next room while sharing vicious smirks. Gin instantly had a bad feeling about what would happen next.

That was when he heard two similar and somewhat oddly familiar voices from the other side of the slightly cracked door.

Morioka Nami [森丘 永海] and Morioka Nishi [森丘 仁紫] loved to make it so that people had a hard time telling them apart. They even dressed the same, every day. They acted so in concert with each other that sometimes Gin had thought they were the same person, with two separate bodies. The last time he had seen them they had been twelve. At almost fifteen now he imagined, and the vocal changes he heard certainly indicated, that the two straight haired redheads probably looked much more…

 _"…..feminine."_

He sighed at the thought.

That meant they'd want MORE from him now too.

They had also been raised to expect Gin to be their husband and they had been clingy enough of him before they had hit puberty to make him imagine just how demanding they would be about him now that they were nearing full womanhood.

Their words also filled him with trepidation.

"Where is he, Momma? Where's our Gin?"

"Momma! You said Gin-Gin-kun was coming! Where is he? Where is he?"

The two girls were identical and unlike their mother and aunt, they did nothing to try to differentiate one from the other.

"My poor girls. I'm terribly sad to tell you my precious ones but,….our Gin-kun had to leave early…."

From his safe place behind the door, the long silence that followed held an ominous foreboding of a torent of rage that was sure to follow.

Then the tsunami wall broke.

"NO! It can't be!"

"He wouldn't leave like that!"

"Gin would never be that cruel!"

They began to wail and sob and cry. Their lamentations were woeful to hear. Even Gin thought this joke had reached cruelty levels.

He flung the door open and stepped in to chastise the two older women in the room who seemed to have a hard time suppressing their mirth at the twins' emotional expense.

"Wow! You two are really mean!"

Then a skull splitting screech made the oldest three people in the room cover their ears or risk potential brain damage.

"GINEI!"

The next thing he knew he was on his back in the floor being molested by two teenage girls who surprisingly didn't look like they were dressing the same anymore. They even had slightly different hairstyles too.

 _"Guess they have grown up some."_

"Oh, Gin-Gin-kun!"

Nami, who now had shorter hair than her sister was practically grinding herself into his right side as she licked and kissed that same side of his face like he was filet mignon.

"I know! I missed you two too!"

"How could you stay gone from us so long?"

Her still longer haired sister Nishi was imitating her sister exactly on Gin's left side.

He was very glad neither had tried to do the same motions against him from his front side.

He could vaguely make out his super happy aunt and his far less happy older sister watching them from above as he tried not to drown in their saliva.

He had never felt so much like a piece of meat as he did at this moment.

"Alright my loves, let our Ginei-kun up so he can breathe."

It was clear they had no intention of obeying their mother in this case, so Gin finally relented and stuck just the end of his tongue out. Had it had its own personality that tongue tip would be the one guy sent out to face an entire enemy army alone. Two female tongue "armies" pounced on that poor tip. Gin suspected that he might need medical treatment for his tongue if this went on much longer.

Then a whole tongue surprisingly found its way into his mouth.

 _"From the left, Nishi."_

She was full on French kissing him.

Then he saw her fly backward as her lips and mouth parted from him suddenly.

Then a tongue suddenly was back in his mouth.

 _"From the right now, Nami."_

A few moments later that tongue also disappeared as Gin became aware of the twins pulling at each other's hair and shouting at each other.

"Go on then."

It was his aunt's voice, but it was Akaio that next had both screaming girls by the hair pulling them off of him.

She tossed them to either side and growled as she hovered over Gin. A moment later and she helped him to his feet. He was surprisingly woozy after his recent ordeal. He briefly wondered if they had given him a concussion as they pounced him down onto the floor.

"You owe each other an apology. That's not how sisters act and that not how they share."

Gin briefly sent his aunt an incredulous look but wisely bit his tongue before his thoughts formed words.

 _"Don't they owe ME an apology? I'm the one who was assaulted just now."_

He had been too busy focusing around his face to be certain, but he was positive more than one hand had gone where it shouldn't a few moments before, and none of those hands were his.

The two girls sent each other a look, then stood facing each other. They then held both sets of hands together.

"I'm sorry imouto."

"I'm sorry too, imouto."

Since their mother wouldn't tell them who had come out first, bother sisters claimed the honor and called the other little sister. At first, it was a way to tease each other when they were little, but now it was just the way they addressed each other.

They rubbed noses and smiled, as if nothing had ever happened, then both looked again at Gin like he was still delicious fresh meat for them to rip into and devour.

"You'll sit beside me at dinner, right Gin-Gin-kun?"

Nishi immediately countered Nami's request.

"No, he'll sit with me at dinner, isn't that right Gin-Gin-kun?"

Akaio let out an exasperated noise and pulled her little brother into her embrace.

"Gin-Gin-kun will sit beside ME at dinner, and your mother will sit on his other side!"

Akaio was their generation's Alpha Female, but Nami and Nishi together, now that they were almost women too, would be a hard fought battle for his Nee-chan.

The three women growled at each other with glaring eyes.

"Ginei is not some bone for you all to fight over!"

Tsukiko's angry words snapped all three young women out of their rage.

"If you four cannot find a way to all share Ginei's attention tonight, then I will sit you all across the table and nowhere near him."

Even Akaio seemed cowed by this threat. Tsukiko was top female in this room and she had just proved it.

"Ah! The proper manipulation of motivation is a thing of beauty to behold. Now, where is my little one?"

A lyrical tiny voice rang out from the nearby hallway towards the bedrooms.

"I'm here, Mother."

"Ah! There's she is."

Tsukiko's bright smile matched her words. At least for tonight, that sweet voice belonged to her "good" child, based on the expression of delight on her mother's face.

Gin couldn't help but smile too when he saw the beautiful little girl emerge in her purple kimono.

Morioka Ayako [森丘 亜治子] now had the same body her sisters had had when he had first left for Yokai Academy, which meant she was still a cute little girl.

Three years from now though….

Gin was happy at least one of his cute little half-sisters was still just a little girl, especially after her older sisters' greeting that he had just managed to survive.

 _"Where had the time gone?"_

He was still stunned by her changed appearance though, she was nearly a head taller now.

"Ayako-chan, you've….you're so big now! You've grown so much!"

Two whiny teenage voices rang out next to him in unison.

"We've grown too!"

 _"Yeah, a bit too grown."_

He wisely kept those thoughts locked away in his mind.

Ayako had always loved her Gin-nii though, and he her too. He dropped to a knee and spread his arms out wide so she could jump into them as she had always done before.

"I sure have missed my Ayako-chan!"

When the expected impact of a young girl running into his embrace clearly wasn't going to happen, he opened his eyes to see what the problem was.

Ayako's completely placid face wouldn't even look in his direction.

"Ayako, are you not going to greet our Ginei-kun properly?"

The rebuke in Tsukiko's voice couldn't cover up the mild concern also coming through.

Then Ayako looked up at her mother with great sincerity in her features.

"Ginei-nii taught me not to believe in ghosts, Mother."

Everyone looked at each other with perplexed faces before Tsukiko refocused on her youngest child.

"What does that have to do…"

"It's plain Mother, is it not?"

As Ayako went on every face in the room contorted into different levels of mortification.

"Ginei-nii told me there were no such things as ghosts when I was younger and scared. Since Ginei-nii has been dead now for two years, seven months and twenty-two days; even if I see or hear an apparition that looks and sounds like him, I know it isn't real."

Now four sets of concerned eyes moved from the placid little girl to a teenage boy who looked like he had just been kicked squarely between his legs.

She wasn't done "burying" his "corpse" just yet though.

"I, of course, would never be silly enough to talk to someone that no longer exists, even if they show up as ghosts. Shouldn't we be going to dinner now? Great-Grandfather doesn't like to be kept waiting."

After a few more awkward silent moments Gin began to try to mumble out words.

"But…..Ayako-chan…I…."

Ayako walked right past him, never sparing him a glance. She was acting as if he truly were not there.

"You are so ridiculous Aya!"

Nami and Nishi were the first to chide her for her attitude.

"Whatever! More Gin-Gin-kun for us!"

Tsukiko and Akaio approach him from either side with sympathy showing on their faces. He was still there on one knee with his arms outstretched, too stunned by her cold reaction to even move.

"I…I can't….."

With a heavy sigh, Akaio patted his left shoulder.

"She gets like that every time you're name has been mentioned these last two-plus years."

Tsukiko looked as her youngest daughter now patiently waited for them by the door.

"It's how she coped with the separation anxiety from you. Give her a while to get it out of her system and she'll be back in love with her Gin-Gin-nii once again, I'm sure.

Both reached down to help him to his feet. Once there he awkwardly looked in his little sister's direction. She wouldn't spare him a glance.

"I never thought….."

Before he could finish his statement Nishi had him by the right arm.

"Don't worry about Aya, she's just being silly!"

Nami wouldn't let her twin outdo her and took him by his left arm.

"We'll take good care of our Gin-Gin-kun, come on!"

The twins happily pulled a still sad and stunned Gin into the hallway by his arms as Tsukiko and Akaio followed them with Ayako far ahead of the whole group. Gin rather pitifully stared at the back of her head hoping for her to turn around and finally acknowledge his existence.

Akaio leaned in to whisper to her aunt with a concerned expression.

"Do you think Ayako will forgive him before I have to take him back tomorrow?"

Tsukiko sighed wearily before replying in a low tone.

"Let's hope so. I'd hate to deal with her after he leaves again if they don't make up and she then regrets it later. Might have to send her to stay with him at the Academy for a week if that happens."

Akaio then brought up another good point.

"I'd hate to deal with HIM if they don't make up. He's downright pitiful right now."

Tsukiko nodded reluctantly.

"Yes, him too."


	12. Short Day X

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I said in the first chapter I wrote this a while back and have mostly been editing material up till now. After about page 3 of this chapter, we're dealing with my recent continuation of the story. It's still along the same lines I had originally intended and I intend to remain faithful to the original story outline and ideas I had back then going forward, hopefully with added experience and fleshing things out to my readers' general satisfaction. Thanks for sticking with me so far and I hope you continue to enjoy this going forward.

Hopefully, you have figured out by now the irony behind the chapter names of "Long Night" which was just two chapters, and "Short Day" which concludes with this tenth installment. Of course, that had been a very long night for the gang and the day after would seem much shorter for them by comparison.

* * *

Kurumu's Tahdig had been just as good as he had remembered it to be.

Tsukune's hand rested on his way too full belly as he leaned back into the plush cushions of the couch and sighed contentedly. On his right, Moka elegantly sipped on her green tea, but he could tell she too had eaten a bit too much as well just from the way she slightly fidgeted a bit more than normal. She was just better at covering it.

On his right side, the master chef herself sat as close as she possibly could get to him without actually touching him.

On the love seat beside Moka sat her bloated looking younger sister and an equally pained looking Yukari. They both had obviously had too much as well. Both moaned low in mild discomfort and Yukari had even laid down on her back with her feet hanging over the arm of the chair. To emphasize their mutual conditions, they both covered their mouths to let out near silent burps.

Somehow poor Ruby and Mizore again were stuck with the cleanup duties but both had volunteered to do so so there was no way to help that.

"I didn't think you could beat lunch today Kuru-chan, but I'd have to say dinner was even better."

She already had her loving eyes on him but his praise of her culinary skills brought additional warmth for him into her smile.

"It's easy to cook well when you do it for someone you love."

While his left side was "warming up" under her bright loving glow his right side went starkly cold, and since Mizore was in the kitchen he knew it was an "emotional" type of frost he was feeling now from that quarter. Moka had taken her eyes off the magazine in her lap and now sent a smirk pasted him towards Kurumu, who languidly looked back with a self-satisfied expression on her own face.

"Well, we are certainly fortunate that you love US ALL so much then."

Kurumu rolled her eyes at Moka's sarcastic words before replying with a devious twinkle in her lavender eyes.

"Some will always benefit from association with more important people."

Before Tsukune could again become the "No Man's Land" between these two feuding beauties, Yukari painfully pleaded for Moka's praise rather openly.

"Um, um, um…..are you forgetting someone?"

Kurumu sighed before adding some praise for the young witch.

"Um…..I GUESS Yukari helped cook too…..a little."

It was her idol's praise Yukari really wanted though and she was soon richly rewarded.

"It was good work indeed. Thank you for your efforts Yukari-chan."

Yukari beamed from ear to ear, oblivious to Kurumu's sarcastic expression or the slightly jealous look of the other vampire in the room directly beside her.

They all knew it as fact and took it for granted that Yukari had been obsessed with Moka since they first met. She was hardly the only person obsessed with her, even in that same room at this moment. Still, unlike Kokoa, who wanted nothing to do with the pink-haired version of Moka and even seemed to reset that version of her sister for suppressing the more beloved version, it was that same version of Moka that Yukari had so deeply loved. How she felt about silver-haired Moka had until relatively recently had been anyone's guess. Yukari though had clearly subscribed to Tsukune's one Moka edict as religiously as he had, transferring her loyalty with ease between the silver and the pink. Or she had already been emotionally connected to both versions, though Silver Moka never had been out long enough before recently for Tsukune to believe the latter a real possibility.

There was one more person in the room Yukari also was deeply obsessed with and from her expectant gaze it was his turn to praise her now.

"I loved everything you guys made. I don't think I could eat another bite though. I'm stuffed!"

Yukari smiled like a puppy and called out rather defiantly to the blue-haired succubus on the other side of Tsukune.

"At least some people appreciate my help. It's true! It's true!"

Kurumu was apparently too busy staring lovingly up at Tsukune's profile to spare the witch any more of her attention.

Beside Yukari, however, came another groaning complaint.

"Please stop talking about food! I'm in pain here!"

Moka then turned her head all the way past Tsukune to call back into the kitchen.

"Let's not forget Ruby and Mizore's contributions."

Tsukune also refocused behind them.

"That's right. I appreciate you guys cleaning up. You sure I can't help you guys?"

"Absolutely positive Tsukune-kun."

Ruby handed Mizore another dish as she followed up on the yukionna's statement.

"Now that we all live together we all need to pull together to make things run smoothly."

Kurumu, despite her apparent Tsukune fueled daydream, still took this chance to get in a dig at Moka and Kokoa.

"And since our Vampire Princesses can't cook, clean, or do laundry thanks to their allergy to water…."

Moka cut her eyes irritatedly at the smirking succubus before correcting her.

"That's not exactly true. We can cook so long as we aren't dealing directly with water without gloves…."

Kurumu cut her off with a derisive sneer as Moka's red eyes began to glow with anger.

"'Can cook' is such a subjective term where you're concerned…."

"AND!" Moka angrily called out to shut her opponent up. "We can assist with laundry folding once it's dry."

Kokoa, who was apparently pained enough now to nearly lay down like Yukari was doing beside her, looked up from where she had previously buried her face in her folded arms on the armrest just long enough to send her much loved sister a pleading expression.

"Onee-sama….."

Moka didn't spare her sister a glance as Kokoa's whiny words came out a halftone too low to even reach Kurumu's ear.

"Why are you telling them chores we CAN do? If they want to play housewives let them."

Moka finally mildly chided her reluctant sister.

"There are no servants here to clean up after you Kokoa-chan."

Moka then rather forcefully pretended to go back to reading her magazine as she spoke for all of them to hear.

"We ALL will pull our weight here, including you."

Her sister's rebuke and another stomach pain were enough to make Kokoa surrender to Moka's will.

"Yes…..OWWWWW….yes Onee-sama."

Yukari took the chance to flop her head into Koka's much-pained lap now like it were a comfy pillow on her bed.

"AWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! What the….!"

After adjusting her head on Kokoa's swollen gut, Yukari also chided the younger vampire.

"Perhaps if you'd said yes to Moka-sama more often and no to another helping of food, you'd not be lying here now in pain?"

The look of disgust on Kokoa's face as she glared at the side of the head in her lap was near comical.

"You're one to talk!"

As if conspiring with Kokoa, Yukari's own stomach took the chance to twist again and produce a moan from its unhappy owner.

Tsukune couldn't help but smile at them. These two clearly got along much better with each other than either seemed to willingly want to admit to. As if to emphasize the point not only did Kokoa not evict Yukari's head from her lap, but within a few minutes she was absentmindedly stroking Yukari's hair.

For her part, Yukari looked quite content on Kokoa's lap.

 _"She's becoming very cat-like."_

Tsukune used the term "cat-like" even in his own mind to avoid the more obvious word "feminine". Yukari had grown nearly half a head taller than she had been when they had first met. Even now her hips seemed wider and her waist narrower than in those days, though he knew the narrower waist was an illusion created by the widening hips themselves.

She wasn't yet thirteen, but that was only half a year away.

 _"And by then what will she look like?"_

That's when the good angel on his right shoulder finally began to talk over the devil on his left.

 _"No! No! No! No! No! Don't go there mister!"_

Tsukune couldn't afford those kinds of deviant thoughts. It was bad enough he had them for more than one girl around his own age, but for a full-on juvenile that was just morally unacceptable.

He could admit that he loved and cared for her, but he had to frame it as if he were her big brother. That was how he could allow himself to show her love and affection while maintaining decorum and decency.

 _"She won't stay a girl forever though. I bet her breasts will eventually be bigger than Mizore's too. Pretty soon she'll have her first…."_

The "devil" voice in Tsukune's head suddenly sounded very feminine and very independent thinking to boot.

At least he hoped it was independent of his real feelings.

And that voice had sounded an awful lot like…..

"Anyone want some more tea?"

Suddenly on his left Kurumu was on her feet and walking around the couch.

"We have it."

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a tray floating past her.

Ruby, behind the floating tray, sent her an inquisitive look, but Kurumu ignored her and quickly sat back down. Instead of retaking her place beside Tsukune though, whose eyes were looking at her now with an oddly probing gaze, she plopped down in one of the two armchairs.

Mizore was quick to take the surrendered place of honor beside Tsukune and wrapped herself into his side, which seemed to break his strange contemplation of that position's previous occupant.

In clear irritation with the yukionna's brazen actions, Moka glared at her while also sliding into Tsukune's other side as some strange form of retaliation.

Being completely sandwiched by two beautiful young women had successfully diverted Tsukune's attention from whatever had caused him to stare so strangely at Kurumu and Ruby couldn't help but notice the sigh of relief from the succubus in the chair beside the one she had just sat in.

Ruby used magic to distribute the teacups around the living room.

A few moments later she couldn't help but look out at them all here in the home she had occupied alone before tonight and smile maternally upon them.

 _"My family."_

She knew there would be battles and struggles and tears ahead of them, but they were here now, united under one roof and she was determined to keep it that way.

 _"Forever."_

She would do whatever it took to keep the family they had forged together, no matter what.

After a few minutes more, Tsukune finished his tea and stood up, much to the obvious displeasure of the two young women who had become so comfortable in his warm proximity that they had clearly forgotten about each other.

Tsukune stretched and then spoke to them.

"It has been a long day!"

Several weary but emphatic head nods followed his statement.

"I think I'll go take a bath."

Before he could move off Yukari finally lifted her head from Kokoa's lap and looked up at him with disappointment.

"Have you forgotten about our bath together? In the onsen?"

Tsukune's sudden embarrassed facial flushing had nothing to do with forgetting about the proposed group activity.

"Oh! Yeah…..that."

Anyone with half a brain could see he had hoped the rest of them had forgotten about it. Not because he didn't want to do it, but because he wanted it to happen way too much.

"Yukari-chan."

Moka's words contained a barely suppressed sigh hidden in them, but Yukari wasn't going to be denied that easily.

"But you promised Moka-san!"

Moka was about to remind the desperately pleading young girl she had only promised to consider them all taking a bath together when the other witch rescued her younger companion.

"Why don't you just take a shower instead Tsukune-kun? That way no one loses any time in the onsen with you."

Moka and Tsukune both looked at Ruby as if she had betrayed them, but Moka's glare was much harsher than Tsukune's general expression of disappointment.

Mizore and Yukari's enthusiastic show of support for Ruby's idea made Moka back down wordlessly and Tsukune gave in without another attempt to deflect.

He was way too tired now to fight off something he actually desired to do anyway, no matter how awkward bathing with these beautiful women would be for him, at first.

Even Kokoa, usually quick to support her Onee-sama, especially when it would be to Tsukune's apparent detriment, had stayed strangely silent on the matter.

"Well, alright guys. I'll go shower up instead."

Kokoa wasn't the only oddly silent person.

Tsukune stopped and looked down at Kurumu with concern.

"Are you alright Kuru-chan?"

She was slightly too quick with an answer for Ruby to believe she hadn't already anticipated his coming question, no matter how well she acted the part of being surprised.

"Huh? Me? Of course Tsukune-kun."

Her smile seemed too forced. He squinted at her in concerned suspicion. It was clear he didn't believe what she was trying to sell him.

"Are you sure?"

Ruby could sense the desperation that had subtly slipped into Kurumu's voice as she replied.

"Yes! Positive! Just tired like all of us are."

He stood there looking down on her as if he was afraid she would shatter before his very eyes, but before Ruby could formulate a way to rescue her foundering friend, Tsukune relented.

"….okay."

He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his troubled looking eyes, but still held a warmth of sympathy for her. That he cared deeply for her was painfully evident. Ruby was glad Kurumu and she were the only two that could see the love he had for her now on his face.

As he moved past Ruby, she heard a very low whisper only meant for her.

"Please watch her."

That he trusted her with this filled Ruby's heart with joy. She didn't need to respond. He knew he could rely on her. That made Ruby's heart sing with joy.

"Are you okay?"

Now it was Moka's eyes filled with concern for her friend. They had all, except Tsukune and Kokoa, watched her collapse out of nowhere earlier that day.

"I said so, didn't I?"

Kurumu didn't want to be back in the spotlight again, having just escaped it. Her irritation was on clear display now.

"Onsen's get very hot, in your condition….."

"I don't have a 'condition', and there is no way I'm skipping a bath with my Tsukune-kun."

Ruby knew these two cared deeply for each other, but they also were two very prideful young women. Kurumu's emphasis on the possessive words made Moka's concern turn instantly to contempt.

"Suit yourself then. Pass out and drown for all I care."

That had very apparently been too much for Moka, who now stewed in anger, but it certainly did end all further talk of Kurumu's "condition" from the vampire beauty.

Ruby needed some way to clear the heavy atmosphere that exchange had produced and found it soon enough.

"Mizore, you won't mind being on standby if anyone should get overheated, right?"

Mizore, in her usual calm manner, nodded and replied while shifting her popsicle in her elegantly shaped mouth.

"Of course not."

Ruby beamed at them all and put her hands together happily.

"Then everything should be fine!"

Moka angrily stared down at the magazine in her lap and Kurumu stared irritatingly out the windows as the last strands of light disappeared in the far distant western sky.

Ruby kept her smile but inside she let her thoughts speak freely.

 _"No one said this was going to be easy."_

The road ahead may be rough, but Ruby would be damned if she let these two ruin it. She'll make them love one another properly if it's the last thing she ever did.

* * *

Not five minutes later and everything seemingly was back to normal.

Moka wasn't trying to burn a hole in her magazine with her angry glowing eyes anymore. Kurumu was still staring out the window but with less irritation and more contemplation showing on her face. Mizore had found her own magazine to read and Yukari continued to look content on Kokoa's lap and under her hand while the younger vampire kept looking between the television over the fireplace, the remote on the table between her sister and herself, and her sister's profile. It was clear she was bored and contemplating the damage that turning on the television right now might do to her sisterly relationship.

Ruby sighed rather contentedly and returned to her own magazine.

 _"Sensei certainly had odd taste in reading materials."_

ViVi, Popteen, KERA, and Zipper weren't typical reading materials for middle-aged (relatively speaking in Yokai terms) men. This wasn't the first time she had thought this but she also didn't think he had gotten these periodicals just for her.

At least she hoped he hadn't. These were all too materialistic for her personal tastes. Though the odd fashion trends shown in them were mildly amusing for her to see.

 _"Maybe he was trying to help me understand the vapidity of the human world better?"_

Quick movement interrupted her thoughts as Moka suddenly seemed on edge.

She dropped the magazine in her hands back onto her lap and stared straight ahead as if she could see an enemy through the fireplace grate directly in front of her approaching them from kilometers away.

Everyone knew enough to go with Moka's instincts and were instantly on their feet and combat ready.

In fact, Moka was the last one to get to her feet.

"What is it Onee-sama?"

Instead of answering her sister's anxious question Moka turned gravely concerned eyes onto Ruby.

"He said he was going to take a shower?"

It took them all a second to realize "he" was Tsukune, but they still had no idea where her obviously desparate concern for him was coming from.

Ruby meekly answered.

"Yes, I believe he did."

Apparently Ruby couldn't have wounded Moka more had she plunged a knife into her heart.

"OH GOD! NO! TSUKUNE!"

Ruby more felt Moka rush past her than see it. In an instant, the silver-haired vampire vanished from their sights. It was the vortex of air on her right side moving her hair and clothes in its wake that let Ruby know something extremely fast had just passed by her.

 _"But….why?"_

She wasn't the only woman in the room mystified by this but they were about to lose another confused mind.

"STUPID IDIOT!"

She wasn't nearly as fast as her sister but that didn't mean she wasn't the second fastest woman in the house.

That was when they heard the sound of a massive piece of glass shattering and the surprised shriek of a man replaced by the wailing of a woman in pain. Kokoa's voice rang out after that in desperation.

"ONEE-SAMA!"

Doubts could wait, they now all bolted in the direction the vampires had just gone.

By the time they reached the doorway to Tsukune's bathroom and paused beside the stunned looking Kokoa, they had missed the opening act of this suddenly developed drama.

Hundreds of shattered pieces of pressurized glass lay all across the floor of the bathroom and the shower, which was still running. Blood randomly stained that glass, apparently from feet stomping on them.

Moka, soaking wet, had tendrils of electricity coursing over her body. She was being supported in the arms of the very concerned Tsukune, who didn't even seem to feel the electricity Moka's body and the water were generating as it also radiated onto him.

Moka, however, twitched violently as sparks coursed all around her.

Tsukune looked down onto Moka's soaking wet clothes and angrily brooded for a brief moment in thought.

"This won't do!"

As if they were nothing to him but paper Tsukune grabbed Moka's top right between her breasts and ripped the wet garments off her as easily as if he were unclasping a front opening bra.

Without a second of hesitation, he clasped her shorts by the waistline and jerked them free of her body as if they were designed to come off in that manner.

Needless to say, the equally wet bra and panties she had on were also removed by these same actions.

She was completely naked before them now.

"Towels! Hurry!"

Five stunned opened mouths and sets of stunned wide eyes glared back at him, but before anyone else could exit their stupor to act a flash of purple light near Ruby turned into towels that fell into Tsukune's hands.

He wrapped the still sparking Moka's wet hair tightly in one towel and wrapped another around her shoulders, using a third to manually dry her body.

Everywhere on her body.

Moka was in too much pain and Tsukune in too much fear for her to realize he was drying her naked breasts and soon elsewhere too.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Arcs of electricity still sparked around her but they had lessened greatly now that he had partially dried her. Still, she found it difficult to respond to his mystified and angry question.

"Wat…..the wat."

Her eyes looking to her left let him follow her gaze towards where the water still flowed out of the showerhead.

"The water? Yes! It's dangerous for you! Why in the world would you do such a reckless thing?"

He had ever rarely gotten angry with her before but putting herself in such pain and danger was something he could not tolerate, especially when such an action made absolutely no sense to him.

His mind hadn't even had time to register the sound of the bathroom door being ripped from its hinges before an elegantly clawed hand shattered the glass door to the shower as well. She couldn't just reach her arm in to grab him so she had to get completely into the spray to get ahold on him. She flung him from his place under the water and he had enough presence then to land upright beside the bathtub, but in doing so she had fully immersed herself in the water stream and had become a veritable living electrode in the process, convulsing violently in the water as bolts of electricity radiated off her.

He never hesitated and immediately went back in to jerk her from the dangerous connection.

Even now neither seemed to notice they were bleeding from the soles of their feet as they stood over the hundreds of glass pieces that had once been the opaque shower down.

Two bright purple lights to his right indicated the sudden use of magic and he saw the bathroom door levitate and rejoin its former place on the hinges of the door jam. The five girls never flinched from their mesmerized gazes as the door came within inches of them as it reattached.

At first, he more felt than saw the glass pieces withdraw from under and around his feet to reunify into the solid opaque glass door it had previously been.

Not for the first time had the magic of witches impressed him beyond measure. The magic that made Moka and his own blood separate and reabsorb into their feet wasn't witch created though. Needless to say, the cuts on their feet had instantly healed as well.

"Water…..vampire."

Her answer to his question brought his attention back to her as just slight tiny arcs of electricity still played where her hairline met the towel wrapped on top of her head.

"You're a vampire now…the water."

Either Ruby or Yukari had also turned the water off too, but now sudden understanding hit him as they both stared into the shower.

 _"She's right, but it didn't though."_

He was a vampire now. By all rights when the water had hit his skin five minutes ago he should have been the one frying inside an electric torture chamber.

 _"But this is the third shower I've had since last night."_

He had showered first thing when his family had got him home last night, even took a brief bath too. Again that morning he had taken a quick shower before leaving for the Academy.

He had been perfectly fine all three times.

Moka was also now a shinso vampire, but clearly, water still caused her great pain.

He turned to see an expression of great concern and confusion on her face that would have been more at home on the face of that other version of her than the usually super confident silver-haired Moka.

He leaned in and they sighed together as their foreheads touched, still oblivious to any effects the remaining tiny lightning bolts on her skin might be causing him too now.

"Oh, Moka. You can't risk yourself like that. Not for me."

He pulled back and they looked into each others' eyes with great love and worry for one another. Then she smirked at him before replying.

"Don't be silly...it's what I do."

They both smirked at each other now, but then he noticed the tiny sparks near her hairline once more.

"Someone get the hairdryer, please."

When he didn't detect movement right away from his left he turned an irritated expression that direction but stopped just short of reprimanding them for their slowness. Their near drooling stupors and eyes aimed zombie-like at his torso forced him to ask another confused question instead.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

Three sets of eyes were focused intently on his midsection with slackened jaws. The other two sets of eyes didn't seem as if they could decide whether to focus on him with the others or beside him onto Moka.

When no one responded he turned back confusedly towards Moka, but now too her own jaw hung loose and her own eyes bulged as they looked slightly downward along his body.

His eyes began to follow her gaze downward but they didn't quite make it to where she was focused.

 _"OH….MY….GOD!"_

There they were in all their glory. Two snow-white mounds of perfectly formed flesh. He had of course seen their sides before, in her bathing suit, and had been greatly pleased then too.

Now though he saw them in all their crowning glory. In fact, he could now see their soaring pointed peaks perfectly formed atop them in a delicate shade of pink.

Time stretched on forever as he wondered far in the back of his now overtaxed mind if drool would fall first from his mouth, blood from his nose, or an eyeball or two from its socket.

 _"I am indeed truly blessed in this life!"_

Then the devil on his left shoulder, who now again sounded like his old self, made him get a little too greedy.

 _"Keep looking down. There's more to see!"_

As his eyes finally were able to focus on the area between those two pink-capped snowy mountains and down her perfectly flat belly, no word of objection was heard from the angel that was supposed to sit on his right shoulder and stop him from being this naughty.

Not a peep from that one. Apparently, that angel wanted to see Moka's body too.

Unfortunately, something a bit more prominent than what Moka would have down there caught his attention first.

An unsightly, unwelcomed, and unexpected intruder that also looked way too damn familiar to him.

 _"What is that doing down there?"_

Then the "cold water" of reality finally reached his mind like a dam breaking.

"AHHHHHH!"

He finally understood where all their eyes had been locked this whole time.

Moka also apparently realized in that same moment she was also naked too.

"AHHHHHH!"

Within seconds all that lovely flesh she had had on full, uncensored display, was hidden away again behind two tightly clinched towels.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

He didn't have that same luxury as he obeyed her screamed command and turned face on towards the other expectant ten eyeballs.

"AHHHHHH!"

Both hands reached down and did their best to try to cover his manhood but his screams of indignation seemed to fall on deaf ears from that quarter.

"For the love of God, someone get me a towel!"

Though like the others her glazed over eyes never wavered from his nether regions or the hands desperately trying to contain them, Ruby's wand lifted upward slightly as if she were about to help him. Before she could complete the magic spell to give him a towel though Yukari, also never taking her expectant gaze off him, placed her hand lightly on Ruby's wand and pushed it gently back down. Ruby didn't offer any apparent resistance.

"PLEASE!"

More than one girl, all still locked into a death stare with the back of his hands, started to slowly move her head from side-to-side. This apparently was too good an opportunity for them to end it willingly on their own.

Then he heard them all groan in sadness as an arm shot past his front from his right side with a towel outstretched from it, now covering his lower half completely.

When he turned in that direction Moka's flushed face refused to look in his direction.

"Take it already!"

While he was distracted by the other girls' probing eyes she had managed to wrap one towel around her entire upper body, freeing the third towel up for him to use.

He grabbed it and wrapped it around his waist quickly, apparently not noticing that a split second before doing so she had turned back in his direction and her eyes had forced their way downward, totally against her own will of course.

Now at least partially covered, neither could bring themselves to initiate eye contact.

"You….."

She finally spoke to him.

"…..get out."

It hadn't sounded mean at all, but the statement didn't register with his mind at first.

"Huh?"

Now they exchanged a brief and awkward glance before Moka jerked her head backwards in the direction of his bedroom.

"Go!"

He finally understood what she wanted from him.

"Oh, right."

Holding the top edge of the towel tightly around him to prevent any possibility of further "accidents", Tsukune began moving in that general direction but immediately slowed when he noticed the gauntlet of females blocking his path seemed to have no intention of letting him pass.

"Kokoa, get the hairdryer from the drawer."

Kokoa was one of those females now blocking his way, with her eyes firmly fixed on the same area as before, as if she could see it through the towel.

Their glazed over eyes made Tsukune feel very naked, even with the towel.

"KOKOA!"

The angry call of her beloved Onee-sama finally broke whatever daze had previously overtaken the mind of the younger vampire.

Kokoa had an amazingly expressive face and she had never hidden her inner thoughts very well. Now freed from it's stupor, her mind suddenly raced out and contorted her face into a wide range of shocked reactions now.

First, she looked downright terrified to have displeased Moka.

Then she looked up at an embarrassed faced Tsukune with another terrified expression that seemed completely unrelated to her fears about her sister's anger.

Then her entire face flushed deep red and she quickly averted her eyes from him.

A few moments later she became enraged and finally began to move past him, but skirted past him like he had some kind of fatal disease that she'd catch if she touched him.

"Hurry up!"

Moka's angry call finally made the younger vampire turn away at last from her angry glare at him.

"Coming Onee-sama!"

As Kokoa began to rummage around in the sink drawers behind him Tsukune saw the other four beauties still expectantly blocking his way.

"Um….."

Their now feral eyes made him even more nervous and as he got nearer to them they began to part, but not near enough to avoid contact with his body.

As he turned sideways to make himself a smaller obstacle it felt like they pressed in towards him even more.

He tried not to make direct eye contact with Kurumu as her ample breasts seemed the greatest obstacle to his forward progress as they softly pushed into his ribcage. Their eyes did meet though and she flashed her eyes happily at him as he slid past her. Whatever she had seen moments before had clearly not disappointed her.

Behind him, another set of breasts pushed into his lower shoulder blades. A very cool cheek, or perhaps a set of lips, glanced across her upper back. Both Mizore and Kurumu let their trailing hands slide along his lower back and torso respectively as he passed between them.

With their hands now so near the towel, he instinctively held on even tighter to it than before.

The flesh of his neck, face, and ears felt like they were on fire now.

The worst surely had to be over now though, right?

Yukari wasn't much of an obstacle in and of herself yet but she made up for her lack of "obstacles" with enthusiasm. She didn't hesitate to forcefully wrap both arms around his waist and press her smiling cheek firmly into his back.

Her doing so pushed him perilously forward, into Ruby.

Blushing profusely and without making eye contact, Ruby had seemingly backed up to let him pass by her unmolested, but somehow that had made her own impressive bustline seem to jut even more outward into his path.

Some form of contact with her body had already been unavoidable, but now Yukari's movements pressed him into Ruby's whole upper body.

As they softly collided he felt her inhale sharply, which only pushed her softest features deeper into him. He could see she was biting her lower lip too, which was quite seductive looking.

Then their eyes met.

She didn't look upset in the least, quite the opposite. And her warm breath felt good on his exposed chest.

Then a second later he was finally out of the lovely gauntlet and into the cool air of his bedroom.

It never even occurred to him that the girls could have simply backed out into the bedroom too and all this truly amazing bodily contact would have never happened.

If a similar thought had occurred to any or all of them, they certainly chose to not act upon it.

It was only now that Tsukune realized he was still dragging Yukari around with him as she clung to his waist like it was a life belt in a torrent sea.

"NO!"

Her sudden disappointed cry as Tsukune felt a gentle hand slide between his flesh and her arm indicated Ruby was trying to gently pry her loose from him.

An equally gentle if somewhat colder hand then did the same on her other arm.

"Come on now, before you get us all killed."

Mizore's even-toned voice accompanied the sound of Yukari struggling against their grasps.

He turned back just long enough to see Yukari pouting, Ruby still absentmindedly biting her lip, and Mizore sending him a knowing wink.

Then the door closed as he heard the sound of the hairdryer coming on at last.

Alone now in his room, only now did Tsukune begin to think clearly once again.

 _"Should I risk them walking in while I'm changing and have them seeing me naked again, or wait patiently_ _in my towel_ _for them to come out before changing?"_

Then he realized all his clothes were in his closet, on the other side of the bathroom door.

So now all he could do was wait patiently for them to come out, and hope he could manage the fortitude required after this event to ever look any of them in the eyes again.

 _"What a day."_

* * *

He couldn't remember falling asleep, though he clearly remembered telling everyone goodnight.

Following the bathroom debacle bathing together in the onsen had almost not happened, which after being completely exposed to everyone, Tsukune would have found as a great relief. Moka clearly had felt she also had shown enough flesh for one day and was set to call the whole thing off, but to his surprise, even Yukari was ready to concede to wearing bathing suits and after some additional whining from the young witch Moka reluctantly gave in.

Then the arrangements around bathing together once they were in the onsen threatened to halt the activity, with Moka originally demanding that Tsukune spend half his time in her tub, first. Kurumu then insisted Tsukune should be in the bigger bath with them for four-fifths of his time since there were four of the girls in the larger tub and just Moka in the other. Moka countered first that Mizore probably wouldn't even get in the hot water, so she shouldn't be counted, but Mizore pledged that if Tsukune was in there she would be too. Then Moka pointed out that Kokoa was also in the small tub with her, and thus she should have Tsukune in the small tub with them for one-third of the time, as one out of three of them were in the small tub. Using Kokoa to her advantage in this way infuriated Kurumu and the argument looked likely to boil the whole thing over, but somehow they both agreed to the one-third arrangement with him in the big tub first. On their next visit, he'd start out in the small tub first.

So he had spent the whole time down there avoiding direct eye and skin contact with everyone while resisting the urge to cover his crotch with his hands, despite wearing full swim trunks.

By the time it was time to move to the small tub he had finally gotten used to Yukari's glowing staring eyes probing his nether regions for a sign of his manhood slipping free, and the other girls trying to slide next to him only to be called out by an angry-sounding snort from the other tub.

All four girls, now alone in the big tub, managed to hang out near the tub wall separating the two baths much to Moka's obvious annoyance. For her part Kokoa looked like Tsukune getting in with her and her precious Onee-sama was the equivalent of finding out someone had peed in the water.

After getting out they had some tea in the living room after Moka insisted the others go back upstairs and at least put bathrobes on in Tsukune's presence, and then they all headed off to bed.

He did remember watching them ascend the stairs to the top floor and he certainly enjoyed seeing those gorgeous row of legs too.

He didn't even remember getting into bed afterward, much less going to sleep. Those things could have happened in reverse order for all he knew.

He did vividly remember wanting to kiss her goodnight though, but it would have been awkward to do so with the other girls watching.

Now though he wasn't quite sure who he had wanted to kiss goodnight though.

 _"Moka for sure! I definitely wanted to kiss her goodnight."_

He could feel her soft body under the towel even now.

 _"Mizore too, she has beautiful lips."_

He could feel her cool lips on his right shoulder blade.

 _"Obviously Kurumu too. She always smelled so good."_

He took a deep breath as she pressed her soft bosom into his chest.

 _"Ruby, yeah her too. The way she bit her lip earlier was so sexy."_

He really wanted to kiss her as her soft hair caressed his face.

 _"Can't leave Yukari out either! She's so cute!"_

He then saw orange hair in his mind and thought how good she smelled as well. He loved how they both smelled when they got out of the herbal bath.

A sudden wave of guilt washed over his mind then, literally!

He felt as if a great wave suddenly caught him and tossed him off his feet and was throwing him about in its foamy, furious waters. He desperately wanted to free himself from its powerful grip and take a deep, relieving breath.

 _"You can't have all of them you greedy bastard!"_

Suddenly the waves seemed to turn into heavy boulders, pressing him down into the rocky sand and holding him under the waves, drowning him in his remorse.

 _"Damn you, you greedy bastard! Isn't one enough?"_

"Oh, Tsukune."

The melodic voice came from his left.

All thoughts of the waves and sand and boulders were instantly gone.

The sky above was red and the clouds ominous but there was nowhere else he ever wanted to be again in his whole life.

The wind on top of the Academy roof was light and random strands of sweet-smelling hair gently played across his face.

They were, of course, pink.

He turned to see the face he long to see the most smiling happily back at him.

"Oh, Moka."

It was lunchtime, and once again they were in their private little world on top of Yokai Academy.

"Oh, Tsukune."

She lovingly caressed his left cheek with her right hand and he desperately clasped it to his face with his left.

"None of it was real. Tell me none of it was real, that it was all a horrible, horrible nightmare."

She gave him a sad little sympathetic smile as she used her free hand to lovingly touch his other cheek. He grabbed it too and forced it into his facial flesh, oblivious to the tears flowing over their hands from his own eyes.

"Oh, Tsukune."

This was a moment he knew he would never have again and he already could feel it all slipping away from him.

"Please, please tell me it was all a lie and we can go back to our perfect, happy lives, together, forever."

He could feel her slipping away from him once more. It felt like last night all over again.

"Please Moka! PLEASE!"

She smiled up lovingly at him with tears now staining her perfect features too.

"I love you so much Tsukune."

She pulled his head into her mouth and he could taste her warm kiss on his lips.

If time could freeze here and never move again he would die happy, trapped in this moment forever with her. Yet he felt her break their kiss and knew everything was wrong once more. Her eyes were still stained with tears, but her face was now resolutely sad.

"But I'm afraid I'm still very much dead."

He was suspended in her arms now in mid-air. Her body was bonded to the great mass of Alucard below her waist. Six great skin membrane wings stretched out from her back into the night air. He could hear the roar of passing fighter jets.

"…no! Not again! Please, no!"

He clawed at her arms, desperate to grab onto her and never let go. Her blood seeped out from the deep marks his frantic actions were producing.

Then he was ripped from her pleading arms and flung backward from her through the humid night air. Her bleeding arms still were desperately reaching out for him to come back to her loving embrace once more.

"LET ME DIE WITH YOU!"

The red cats-eye jewel buried at the center of the cross of the rosary latched deep in her bosom, flared bright red like Silver Moka's eyes.

"TSUKUNE!"

Then she exploded into a great mass of light.

"NOOOOOOO!"

The rosary flew from where her chest had been just seconds before and collided with his face as if it weighed a thousand tons.

The next thing he knew he was standing on a rubble pile in the middle of the battlefield that had been Minato Mirai. Buildings and great high-rises had been toppled all around him, mixed in with the shattered remains of the Hanging Garden.

He then looked down to see in his hands a lifeless corpse bleeding out, with pink hair.

"MOKA! MOKA!"

He clutched her lifeless form to him and screamed out in desperation, only to see it was no longer her in his arms.

"KURUMU? KURUMU! Wake up, please!"

A moment later and another of the women he loved laid dead in his arms.

"Mizore? Not you too! God, please no!"

Then another.

"Ruby! Wake up, Ruby! I need you!"

And another.

"Oh my God! Yukari-chan! No! Please No!"

And another still.

"Kokoa! Kokoa! Wake up! Wake up!"

Then it was his mother.

"Ka-chan, no!"

Then his cousin.

"Kyouko, please! Please wake up, I need you!"

His father, grandmother, aunt, uncle, teachers, friends, all his loved ones. The torture of seeing everyone and everything he loved dead and destroyed before him was becoming an endless cycle of agony.

Then the dead body of a silver-haired beauty lay at last in his arms.

"No Moka! Not you too! NO! GOD NOOOOOO!"

He buried his face in her silver locks and prayed for this endless nightmare to come to a swift conclusion, even if it was his own death.

Though his eyes were still wet with the tears of his perpetual anguish, his arms were now suddenly empty.

Then he saw their broken corpses surrounding him within a circle of death.

"No…..no."

He stood as if to run away from the horror of the sight but the broken and bleeding bodies began to writhe and move and reach out to him. They called out to him in horrifyingly familiar but lifeless voices.

"But we're all still dead!"

He recoiled in horror but as he turned to flee there she was. Pink hair, green eyes, alabaster skin; but in a gothic dress, like her mother, and with the rosary buried in the flesh between her breasts.

Whether it was Moka-chan, Akasha-sama, or both, he couldn't say.

Would he ever be able to say?

"Oh, our poor Tsukune."

Her voice now echoed, as if three or four versions of her voice could come from the same mouth at the same time.

Her cut up and bleeding features were terrifying to behold. She reached up with her cut and bruised right arm and gently wiped the tears from his cheek.

"See these wounds?"

He saw the claw marks. He hid his face from her in shame.

"...no! NO!"

"You did this to me Tsukune-kun."

Her smile was beautiful and her voice happy, but her words pierced his heart like like a sword.

"NOOOOOO!"

She spoke to him in the multiple voices he had always loved the most to hear with nothing but sympathy in her expression and tone.

"We're all still dead, and it's all your fault."

Her words felt like hot daggers plunged in his heart and he felt his flesh begin to crawl out from under his own skin.

"AWWWWWWWWW!"

As he wailed in his ultimate agony and pain into the night air, he could feel his body transforming and expanding from underneath him. Great wings protruded from his back, blood armor formed where once he had had skin, and he grew and grew upward and outward uncontrolled.

"AWWWWWWWWW!"

He was losing the last shards of his humanity with every second of agony he experienced now. He was becoming rage made flesh.

He wanted them all to pay for what they had done. What they had done to her. What they had done to him. Yet he couldn't even tell you who "they" were.

He hated everyone now.

He wanted everyone to die for what they did.

He wanted everyone to pay for his agony.

He wanted to pay...for what he had done, to them all.

To...her.

From the ground, the walking dead of people he loved stared up blankly as he became wrapped in the skin of pure evil itself.

As his last agony of transformation occurred and he descended into the realm of complete madness, his last conscious thought drew his eyes and ears to a man sitting on a rubble pile, lighting up his cigarette and staring up at him in self-satisfaction with an irritating smirk on his face.

That man's mocking words now penetrated the last sane parts of Tsukune's mind, pushing him finally over the edge of reason.

"That's my boy. I'm so very proud of you. You are everything I knew you would be."

His transformation into a demon was now complete. Now the Angel of Death could walk the world made flesh.

"NOOOOOO!"

* * *

"Moka, no. Moka no, don't go. I need you."

She rolled over to look at the person beside her in the bed writhing in obvious pain.

The disturbing episode had started at least five minutes ago, that's when she had been awoken by it, but now it was reaching a crescendo.

The person next to her began to thrash about and reach upward for something that wasn't there.

"Tsukune! No Tsukune! Come back!"

They say you should never wake a person in a dream, even a nightmare, but Mizore had had all she could take of this.

"Come on, wake up."

A gentle shove didn't even do the trick.

"I said, WAKE UP."

Kurumu bolted upright in bed as if stunned by an electric shock. Mizore even jumped back slightly from her, startled by the suddenness of her movements.

"Are you….."

Before Mizore could finish her question Kurumu emphatically blurted out a name.

"Tsukune!"

Then they both heard a great crashing sound as if a heavy piece of furniture had been dropped from a great height. Scrapping sounds followed it and then the violent opening of a window.

It all sounded like it was coming from the room directly under them.

Tsukune's room.

Kurumu had already bolted for the door when Mizore rounded the corner of the bed. She made it onto the balcony in time to see Kurumu leap over the banister, over the stairs that headed down to the basement, and onto the pathway beside the kitchen table.

It was only then she noticed the concerned expressions on the faces of the two people now standing to her left.

Yukari asked her question for both herself and Ruby.

"What's going on?"

Kurumu had already taken off toward Tsukune's room by then but the sudden movement of Moka, from next to her own bedroom doorway, leaping over the balcony railing and onto the living room floor below, stopped Mizore from answering right away. She also took off in the direction of Tsukune's room as her younger sister replicated her actions to follow her.

"I don't know but I plan to find out."

Mizore followed Kurumu's example and leaped all the way over to the kitchen area before heading in the same direction as the rest. The two witches decided to use the stairs instead of magic to reach Tsukune's room.

By the time they entered the room, they saw Moka and Kurumu arguing before an open window as Mizore and Kokoa looked on with obvious concern.

"I told you he just needs some fresh air! Leave him be!"

Kurumu was clearly blocking a very irate looking Moka's path. She clearly wanted to get out that windows and after Tsukune, who very apparently had just fled the residence.

"Look around you! Fresh air?"

Only now did everyone seem to notice the scratches, no, claw marks on the ceiling and walls. Some of Mikogami-san's landscape paintings that adorned most of the walls in Tsukune's room looked like they had been knocked down by the thing that scrapped everything up. The seven magical panels featuring the group over the headboard were intact, but the sheets and blankets on the bed looked like a great beast had ripped them to shreds.

Ruby assumed that Tsukune had deployed his new wings inside…by accident, of course.

Without being asked to, Yukari produced her star-topped wand and set about fixing the room. As sheets mended, walls smoothed back out, and painting rehung themselves, Moka pressed her case.

"He needs m…."

The anger suddenly seemed to leach out of Moka's words as her obvious despair began to show.

Kurumu sighed, tired, concerned, and worried, as she gently laid both hands on Moka's shoulders.

"He needs to be left alone."

Moka looked as if Kurumu had just made her taste something truly disgusting and twisted angrily out of her hands, but Kurumu was not done.

"As you said, look around you. He obviously had a nightmare. After what he's been through is that any surprise at all?"

Everyone looked around at each other, exchanging sad and worried glances. No, this was expected.

"No."

Moka seemed to deflate as she answered truthfully. Kurumu sighed and spoke up again.

"Let him get it out of his system."

After a few moments of silence, they all began to move toward the door back into the kitchen, but Moka's next words and suddenly completely downtrodden expression made them all stop.

"But it's…"

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she choked up before she could finish her words. What had been left unsaid by her, was correctly assumed by all the rest as they sadly exchanged glances in the well of silence that had now formed between them all.

Moka obviously blamed herself for Tsukune's troubled state of mind because Moka wasn't the same Moka she had once been.

That Moka was apparently dead, and Tsukune had loved her and now he mourned for her as any normal person would.

Clearly, that didn't make this Moka feel adequate or happy in any way though.

"Yeah, it was probably about her."

Kurumu's honest assessment broke the hovering silence building around them.

"That doesn't make it anyone's fault though. Of course, he's in pain. He loved her."

She was speaking directly to Moka but her words were clearly meant for them all.

"I'm also just as sure that had it been you, or anyone of us for that matter that had died last night instead then he'd be doing this exact same thing."

She gave Moka a wiery but warm smile then and patted her upper left arm.

"He has a right to mourn for her, even if he refuses to believe you and she were two different people."

They both looked out the open window with grave expressions at the bright moon over the lake as the night breeze pushed the curtains around gently.

"We just need to let him…..work it out, that's all. He needs...time."

From the look on Moka's face, that was clearly going to be something she would find extremely difficult to give him.


	13. Slowly Onward Part I

The cirrocumulus clouds rode high in the night sky, not fully blocking out the stars and certainly not blocking out the great weight of reflected light from the moon. It was only now that he could feel the slight breeze that would push those clouds southeastward out over the Pacific.

There was only the slightest of chills in the night air now. Truly in August, this early hour of the morning was the one time of day when it was pleasantly bearable to be outside.

He saw the moon reflecting off the surface of the lake less than a meter below him now. The only disturbance was caused by his own passage above it, and the occasional flap of his great leathery wings.

He knew the physics behind it made no sense. The wings were massive, but they would need to be hundreds of meters long to actually support his weight in the air. He doubted whether they were even near twenty meters long from tip to tip.

He had thought the same the first time he had seen Kurumu's wings too. When he saw Ruby's six black feathered wings he knew they were obviously a product of magic, but Kurumu's, and now his own seemed as if they were a natural part of their bodies, though in his own case he knew they weren't.

Some form of magic gave him the wings, and some related form of magic made them work, despite the laws of the natural world.

If he looked straight down he'd see his own face only partially obscured in the water reflected back at him, but that face was the image of the last person wanted to see now.

That person had been weak, and his weakness had cost him dearly.

That person was someone Tsukune may never be able to forgive.

He let his right arm drop below him. The tips of his fingers touched the water's surface and were pulled back slightly by the resistance they experienced on the water's surface as his great wings let him glide effortlessly over it.

Where his fingers touched it the water parted and fell off behind him in a growing V shape.

He knew this should cause him pain. Untreated water was anathema to a vampire.

She had risked her life to save him earlier that day from a threat that should have been there but wasn't.

He also had no craving for blood as a normal vampire should. He had even tried some when Ruby suggested it after the shower incident. All of them had pricked their fingers for him.

They each had a unique flavor, which he was surprised was so easy for him to detect the differences between, but none of them made him crave blood. Moka and Kokoa both had seemed even more disturbed by this knowledge than by his amazing resistance to water.

Ruby immediately broke out her black book, but there was no immediate answer to the mystery of his strange non-vampire abilities on its pages either.

" _So…..what am I?"_

When he asked that question Moka had an immediate answer.

"You are a vampire! It's my blood that has made you this way. You are one with us."

Even to his ears, it had sounded like she was more concerned about it than her apparent confidence seemed to indicate. Her possessiveness of him also seemed a bit frantic, as if he maybe not being a vampire was a threat to her or some form of shame for her.

He was now at the Teacher's Village end of the lake, whose few lights at this early hour were off to his right as he skirted along the far shore of the lake. As he came near that end of the lake he made a great arching flight path to the right and was now nearer the buildings.

He next looked upward toward the sky above, and with a few great pulsations of his wings, he ascended upwards toward the clouds far above, leaving two circular depressions temporarily on the water's surface as the air beneath his wings pushed against the water.

* * *

"WOW!...Aono-san?"

From her place on the veranda of her Teacher's Village suite, a still very inebriated Nekonome Shizuka hadn't believed it when she first saw the winged shadowy figure emerge from behind the tree line a few moments before.

When his fingers had touched the water though it was evident even to her own addled mind that what she was seeing was real.

She watched in fascination as he rounded the curve of the larger end of the lake and finally came close enough to make out some details.

Her astounded words accompanied her widened eyes as she followed his sudden trajectory change upward into the night sky.

"Huh?...Tsukune-kun….where?"

From a lounge chair beside her own, another bedraggled female figure woke at her words and fumbled for a set of glasses she wouldn't find out here.

Shizuka looked down drunkenly at her drinking partner and shook her head.

"Nowhere….go back to sleep. You're….drunk."

Ririko Kogame didn't even reply. She laid back down on the lounge chair and closed her eyes as if she'd never woke in the first place.

" _We'll have hell to pay tomorrow. You and I."_

Shizuka was glad neither had to work the next day because their shared hangover was going to be a massive one.

She sat back down and looked skyward where she knew Tsukune had to be now, but couldn't see a trace of him anymore.

" _Poor kid."_

These were her last thoughts before falling back off into the dream world.

* * *

As he ascended further into the sky with each powerful pulsation of his great wings he'd occasionally look down below him where he had previously been.

The gourd-shaped lake retreating beneath him seemed rather tiny now, as did the Teacher's Village on its shore and the even smaller little house clinging near the shoreline on its other end.

His new home.

Further along the left horizon, he could see the greater mass of Yokai Academy Buildings near the cliffs overlooking the ocean. He found it odd to think that at the Academy itself no one could see him now because of the effects of the Teachers' Barrier.

Where the road arched back around he could see the twin dorms that had been their home together before tonight and even further along the road were the hospital, and the day school.

But that was all.

No city lights dotted the far horizon in any direction.

Suddenly a wave of energy washed over him and the stars in the night sky blotted out instantly, replaced by thick gray clouds. He had ascended through the Teachers' Barrier and into the Great Barrier proper now.

There was nothing for him to see here now. Only thick clouds dominated his vision in any direction.

Gravity alone told him what direction to go and his massive wings pulsated into the thinner air above.

He could feel his lungs begin to burn as they struggled to bring in more oxygen from the constantly reducing available supply.

Then a great wave of energy washed over him and he nearly collapsed back down listlessly into the night air. It took all his effort to maintain his place in the sky now, but the stars had returned and now the far horizon had the familiar glow of city lights in globs along the edge of land and sky which he knew were the tell-tail signs of cities.

 _"...humanity."_

When he looked down all he saw beneath him now was a dark landscape he knew was completely forested over. No lake, no Teachers' Village, no hospital or dorms or day school.

No Yokai Academy.

And no new home along the lakeshore.

" _No….her."_

With that sudden, errant thought he let go and fell backward in the sky, free-falling back into the Great Barrier and the thick gray clouds. Gravity pulled him down to what should have been his doom, but it was all hollow to him now.

He felt…..nothing.

He knew that if he slammed into the earth below at full force, or more likely the lake, it would hurt and many bones and organs would be crushed, but within moments they would heal and he would be exactly as he was before.

Suddenly another wave of energy passed through his freefalling body and the night sky returned. Only a couple hundred meters now separated him from the sweet release of pain.

" _Pain….that I can live with."_

Could he replace the pain in his heart that he couldn't comprehend with simple to understand physical pain instead, or would it just magnify all his pain for him?

At the very last second, he decided it wasn't worth finding out, yet. He pulled his wings into his body and twisted in the air. Once he was facing the rapidly approaching surface of the lake he timed it perfectly and at the last possible second his wings folded out and "popped" as the dense air took hold of him and jerked his vertical descent into a forceful horizontal glided just centimeters from the water.

There was no thrill for him at all in any of these death-defying acrobatics.

After all, he wasn't defying death at all, just pain.

The night before, everything in his world had been on the line.

Today, tonight, death and pain meant nothing to him anymore, and he knew they never would.

At least not his death, or his pain.

His eyes looked left and he saw the lights on downstairs in the Chairman's house.

 _"…..damn."_

Of course, his clumsy stumbling exit from the house woke them all. Now instead of getting the sleep they all needed they were waiting there, worried, for his sake.

" _I'm such a jackass."_

Maybe if he came back in now, they would go back to sleep. He doubted it though.

He had already created their anxiety, he couldn't fix it completely by just walking back in and apologizing for being a thoughtless jerk.

He used the momentum he had built up in the fall to soar upward now over the end of the trees at the lake line and glided over the dirt path that secretly circled back towards the Academy building. As he rose higher the Academy began to loom before him, growing larger as he flew onward.

As he approached the roof of the Academy he began to slow and gradually glide downward. With just centimeters from his feet and the surface, his great leathery wings disappeared and he dropped gently onto the roof below him.

He stood there in silence. The only slightly cool breeze made the hairs on his bare skin prickle. The scent of molding and dead leaves hung in the air, so alien to most normal August scents one could smell anywhere else in this nation.

The only light here was that reflected from the moon high above. He looked down to where the shadow he cast seemed to look back up at him.

It was the shadow of a man, still mostly a boy really. It had no great wings or horns or tails. From appearance alone, it was the shadow of just a normal everyday person.

A plain human boy.

It was a lie.

He would never be "human" again.

It wasn't because of his new immense powers or his seemingly great destiny that he would never be truly human ever again though.

A vital part of his humanity had died last night, maybe the best part.

She had taken it with her to whatever lay on the other side, because it had always belonged just to her.

All he had ever really done was rent that piece of himself from her, so it was her right to repossess it.

His eyes drifted to the corner of the roof near the access structure that led down into the Academy stairwell.

By instinct, he moved over to look down on the spot beside the low wall next to that structure.

Once there he realized what he had done.

" _This is….was, our spot."_

Only a few weeks ago they had shared their last ever lunch together right here, oblivious to the fact that it was the last time.

How could they have known back then?

How could that normal, perfect lunch be made any more memorable by knowing it was to be their last one together?

He was glad they hadn't known.

He would cherish every moment of that perfect day forever.

That last, perfect day, with her.

He sat down in his usual spot, and let the water that had been collecting at the corners of his eyes silently flow down his face at last.

The slight breeze felt even cooler where it touched the moist streams on his cheeks.

He knew he should get back home. He knew they were up and worried about him.

He knew she was worried and waiting for him too.

"Her"….and "she".

" _Selfish bastard."_

How could he expect her to believe in One Moka, if he didn't? Wasn't being here right now evidence of his own hypocrisy.

"She" was dead, but "she" was waiting for him back at the Chairman's House.

" _After all, was it not Akasha Bloodriver that had died the previous night, a woman Tsukune had never actually met before till that very moment?"_

If that was true, then there really has only ever been one Moka and now she was waiting for him to come home.

" _But she told you she loved you."_

Why would Akasha do that if she had never met him before, and what did that make the woman now waiting for him?

What was he truly mourning for? Was it a woman he never knew, or the young woman he had loved with all his being?

Could it be something or someone else entirely? Could he be that selfish?

Was he not even mourning for her, but for his own self?

Hadn't his last chance to return to the human world also died at Minato Mirai?

He wasn't allowed to examine that thought more carefully though as he became aware that he was no longer alone on the rooftop.

The small building that housed the stairwell entrance had shielded the new interloper well from the brightness of the moon.

When the hot ash at the end of the cigar flared brightly in the night air, exposing its owner's face, at last, Tsukune didn't jump in surprise. That person's presence had seeped into Tsukune's reality at least five seconds beforehand as if he had been gradually poured into being out of nothingness.

After a long drag on the cigar, he removed it languidly from his lips and let out a long, smoke-laced breath. The slight breeze took the smoke and pulled it away into a fine mist before it disappeared from the world forever, never to return.

"This is really the only time of day to be outside in August. It's so damn muggy and hot all the rest of the time."

His eyes were slightly aimed skywards off towards the direction where the ocean and the sky met beyond the cliffs to their immediate east.

"I suppose it is."

Bus Driver clearly didn't get that Tsukune wanted to be alone from his lackadaisical sounding response. Tsukune, for politeness's sake, tried to hide his irritation.

Bus Driver mildly surprised him by apparently knowing what he was doing and why Tsukune was here at this hour.

"Sorry for intruding."

Not for the first time was Tsukune annoyed that Bus Driver seemed capable of reading his thoughts so well.

Bus Driver took another pull off his cigar and let the ash follow the smoke into the air before speaking again.

"I can honestly say that in my very long life, your particular problem now is a unique one to me."

Tsukune took a deep, steadying breath before reluctantly engaging in conversation.

"What do you mean?"

At first Bus Driver acted as if he hadn't heard Tsukune, but before Tsukune could inquire further Bus Driver finally spoke.

"Moka-san, and her mother."

It was what Tsukune had expected, but still having someone else say it to him made his heart sink.

"….oh."

"And more."

Before Tsukune could ask about the second part Bus Driver proceeded with his statement.

"Like being a human turned into a yokai, and overnight becoming the face of yokai to the entire human and yokai worlds."

Tsukune didn't try to hide his irritation now.

"So you saw the human newspapers?"

"I saw you on TV too."

Bus Driver's unusually chipper inclusion of broadcast media did nothing to improve his conversation partner's sour mood.

"…great."

Bus Driver took a puff on his cigar as he looked down sympathetically on his nearly distraught companion. Once the smoke from this latest exhalation had drifted into the night air, Bus Driver asked Tsukune a question.

"Can I give you my theory on your first problem?"

Sparing him only the briefest of glances before returning his eyes blankly to the rooftop surface, Tsukune gave a half-hearted agreement.

"Couldn't hurt."

Bus Driver tapped off some ashes from his cigar as he replied in a mild tone.

"In the long term, it doesn't matter if the person you shared lunch up here with all those days was either Akasha-sama, or Moka-san."

This statement caught Tsukune's immediate and curious attention.

"How do you figure?"

Bus Driver's lips pulled up into a sideways grin as he explained his position on the issue.

"Being one with her this whole time has to have left a lasting impression on who Moka-san is. The young lady waiting for you to come back to the Chairman's House is a product of that cumulative experience of both herself and Moka-chan. She is what her mother always wanted her to be."

Seeing his obvious confusion, Bus Driver spelled it out for him in one simple statement.

"She is, already and literally, herself."

It was plain from his expression that Tsukune was pondering his words. As he did so, Bus Driver elaborated on the topic.

"And I can guarantee you that they both, be they mother and daughter, Moka-chan and Moka-san, or a combination of all three personalities, want you to be with Moka-san right now."

Hearing this seemed to drive Tsukune deeper into his depression. After another long drag on his cigar, Bus Driver made another point.

"After all, you are also a product of that cumulative experience, are you not?"

He sent his distraught companion another sideways grin.

"Did you not share her life with her? Did you not share her experiences and trails, her hopes and dreams?"

He turned away from Tsukune then and stared vaguely back out into the night sky as he continued.

"If the one you call Moka-chan was, in fact, all Akasha-sama, did you not make her final years better for being in them? Did you not also make her daughter's life better at the same time?"

He took another long drag off the cigar before speaking once more.

"If she were here now she'd tell you herself that the best way to honor the loving relationship you had with her would be to transfer everything you felt for her to the one person she loved even more than you, her daughter."

He then turned to look at the still downtrodden Tsukune with as much sympathy as his enigmatic face could muster.

"And if the one you called Moka-chan is really just another form of Moka-san, are you not denying her and you both that love right now?"

As Tsukune watched him he looked off past Tsukune and moved towards the low wall Tsukune's back was against while taking another long puff off the cigar. Once he was two meters from where Tuskune sat he placed his arms on top of the wall and looked out over the edge of the school building to the surroundings below it.

"I'm a lot older than I look kid, but you had figured that out some time ago."

Tsukune didn't answer, so Bus Driver took that as agreement and kept talking.

"I can tell you the most important thing I have learned in my whole long life. Love, in all its forms, is the most precious thing in all existence, but time is a close number two."

He looked over at Tsukune, who once again was sadly looking down towards the gap between his feet.

"Feeling guilty for loving someone is a pointless waste of time, energy, and love."

He shook his head sadly before speaking once more.

"I don't envy you kid, in this matter or the other. You are facing a tough road ahead. There's a reason we withdrew from everyday human existence in the first place and you're going to be juggling a lot of different things in the not too distant future to try to keep the whole world from descending into chaos."

He left his left elbow on the wall top as he leaned on it and turned to look down at Tsukune.

"If…whoever she was or is, were here right now she'd want you to have a strong foundation on which to build this future, and that foundation is always made up of the ones you love, and who love you."

Without turning his head, Tsukune's eyes cut to the right and upward at his companion, who kept speaking.

"You have a lot of strong foundation stones already, but you're the one that needs to get them in place before the storms break. My advice is to focus on today, let yesterday go, and tomorrow can worry about itself."

With that, he took another long drag on his cigar, watched the smoke blend away into the southeasterly breeze, tapped off some ashes, and then turned to walk away. Before he could turn the corner at the roof access structure, he looked back toward Tsukune once more.

"One final piece of advice kid?"

Tsukune almost gave out a knowing laugh as he responded.

"Sure."

Bus Driver gave him another smirk before finishing.

"Whether it was Akasha-sama or Moka-san that was really Moka-chan, your One Moka policy is still right either way."

Seeing another confused look on Tsukune's face, Bus Driver finished before rounding the edge of the building.

"After all, if you think about it logically, there only has ever really been just the one Moka, right?"

Tsukune knew he didn't need to get to his feet and look on the other side of the structure to know that Bus Driver was gone now. He could sense that just as easily as he had come here minutes before he was completely gone now. He might as well have drifted off into the night sky along with his cigar smoke.

He allowed himself another twenty or thirty minutes of selfishness as he pondered Bus Driver's advice and his own misery. The clouds kept moving southeast above him as he looked up at them, highlighted on their edges in light gray by the moon's pale light.

His mostly exposed skin still prickled in the slight coolness of the early morning air.

The wet streaks had returned to his cheeks as he looked upward into the firmament up above.

Once his eyes ran dry, and the streaks had all evaporated, he finally found his feet underneath him again.

His great wings reappeared on either side as he stretched them out t either side. The night breeze caught them and he let the wind carry him over the waist-high wall and down several stories to the Academy grounds below.

Then once again they were gone.

He felt like walking back.

He saw a familiar bench several meters ahead under a walkway awning that connected two separate entrances to the building.

Off to the left, an all too familiar vending machine could also be seen in the ghostly half-light.

He walked over to it, still very much barefooted, thinking the whole time how embarrassed he'd be if this was a school day and all he had own were his boxers.

Before reaching the machine he remembered he had no cash on him, but luckily his own forgetfulness should work to his advantage now.

He moved over to a low brick planter near the vending machine and counted seventeen bricks over from the corner. He lifted the top brick off the seemingly solid mortar beneath it and found the coins he had left their a few weeks before.

" _The one time my forgetfulness paid off."_

He smirked as he thought that.

Exact change for just two drinks, hidden there by him in case he ever forgot his change.

He took enough for just one beverage and covered the rest again with the brick for another day.

He let the sound of the coins register in his ears as they dropped into the tumblers behind the front panel of the machine, suddenly realizing how quiet the world around him was.

Anywhere else in Japan right now would have sounded like a tiny construction site with hundreds of millions of cicada calling out for potential mates.

Not here though. Not under the Great Barrier.

The only sound here was the occasional bare tree branch bending in the light breeze.

With the beverage now in hand, he looked down on it and smirked, then turned back to smirk at that bench.

They had sat there together enjoying a beverage on their very first day together at Yokai Academy.

The memory didn't make him cry though, only smile warmly.

He managed not to give in to his first instinct and sit down on the bench.

If the rooftop visit had shown him anything it was that some wounds were still too fresh for him to open now.

He'd save a nostalgic and melancholy visit to the bench for another day.

He turned and began to walk, still barefooted, with the beverage in his hand, down the dusty dirt road that would lead to a hidden entrance in the woods that led to the Teacher's Barrier and another dusty road that would take him back to his new home.

Their new home, together, all of them.

This morning, as he walked home, Aono Tsukune managed not to look back and give in to nostalgia or despair and focused only on the road ahead of him, and the cool night breeze on his skin.

* * *

The six of them sat around the kitchen table in their bathrobes with their night clothes or pajamas underneath.

They all were bleary-eyed and quiet as they sat there silently in various states of concern.

Six tea cups had steam wafting up from them. For most of them, it was their third cup already.

Ruby had explained to them almost an hour before that she knew Tsukune had briefly left the Great Barrier only to return moments later.

Her wand had been synced to the Great Barrier controls to provide her with updates on the comings and goings inside Academy grounds.

She had strategically left off the part where she knew exactly where Tsukune had left and reentered the Barrier from. No need to worry them about Tsukune hanging out at seven thousand meters. Ruby was already worried enough for all of them on that count.

Occasionally, when no one else seemed to be looking, she'd send a discreet questioning gaze to the one person with an even better Tsukune detection ability.

So far Kurumu only answered her with slight head shakes.

Kurumu was actually the least worried looking of the girls around the table. Even Kokoa seemed mildly concerned, but whether that was a sympathetic response to her Onee-sama's obvious agitation or her own genuine concern for Tsukune Ruby couldn't say. Probably a little of both, to some degree, was Ruby's personal assessment.

If anyone else noticed Kurumu was taking the worrisome situation the best, they didn't indicate it. Ruby knew that she should be the only person who truly knew why Kurumu was so much calmer than the rest and she took solace in the fact Kurumu indeed was calm.

" _He must be alright. If he weren't…."_

If he weren't alright, Kurumu would have bolted out the door and after him.

It was then she caught Kurumu staring at her. She briefly flashed her eyes wider towards the eldest witch and nodded slightly.

" _He's returning!"_

Ruby bit the inside of her cheek to force herself to hide her new knowledge and the instant relief it brought her.

Since the most traffic on any given day at Yokai Academy between the barriers was at the Teachers' Barrier, Ruby had purposefully deleted the alert for crossings there. So when anyone crossed this barrier, she wouldn't know unless she looked back on the record later.

A wand can still tell a witch or wizard a great deal, even when it was in the dimensional pocket most witches chose to hide it in when not directly needed. The slightly warm sensation on her inner right forearm let Ruby know someone had just crossed the Chairman's Barrier.

Again, Ruby was forced to suppress herself from showing her own relief. She had told none of them that she would know whenever someone, including any of them, had crossed the Chairman's Barrier, and for now she planned to keep that ace safely tucked away for when it could be most useful.

A moment later, Moka suddenly turned to look wide-eyed over her shoulder toward the front door.

Then she stood and moved off in that direction, the others following her while exchanging curious glances.

More than five minutes later, when some of them began looking back at the table, Moka's superior shinso senses showed their reliability.

They saw a male figure through the glass doors of the front vestibule and front door. When he walked in they all saw his face.

It was Tsukune.

Seeing all of them looking back at him expectantly he turned away bleakly from their gazes and sat on the small bench over the shoe rack to wipe his dirty feet off with wipes before he entered the house.

Once he tossed the wipes into the small waste basket he stepped into the living room and finally braved himself enough to look into their questioning and worried faces.

"I'm…..sorry."

He sighed heavily under the weight of their combined expressions before continuing.

"I didn't mean…..to wake you all up."

Their faces went surprisingly cold at that. Moka even began to glare at him disapprovingly with her now hooded red eyes.

Something inside himself whispered to him that they weren't angry he had woke them.

He quickly corrected himself.

"I'm sorry I…."

He swallowed hard before finding the courage to continue.

"I'm sorry I made you worry."

They all held their harsh glares for a few seconds more. Then their expressions softened considerably. A few even sighed in obvious relief.

Tsukune though now seemed to suddenly waiver. They could sense him tensing and saw his eyes moisten and his lower lip begin to quiver.

"I just…..had to get…..I couldn't…."

"It's alright. We understand."

Kurumu's reassuring smile and supportive comment drew a briefly irritated glare from Moka, but she soon softened her own expression again and spoke out to him.

"You're home now."

The slightest of smiles creased her face then.

"That's all that matters."

Ruby quickly jumped into the conversation as well.

"Would you like some tea Tsukune-kun?"

Now suddenly bolstered by their apparent forgiveness, Tsukune managed a small but grateful smile for her.

"No, thank you."

His expression became slightly dark again then.

"I think I'll…try to go back to sleep now."

Ruby was anxious to give him the space he needed before Moka or one of the others could try to forcefully comfort him, as they all naturally wanted to do. She spoke brightly to the others.

"That's a good idea. We all should try to get some sleep now."

She then began trying to herd them towards the upward stairs.

They had all been so concerned for him that even Yukari had managed not to point out he was standing there only in his boxers. Of course, compared with the excitement of yesterday evening, boxers were now apparently not even worth mentioning, at least in this situation.

Moka didn't budge from her place before him, using her staring eyes to probe his features for signs of depression or concern. Kurumu was about to grab Moka's upper arm to encourage her to leave him alone, when both their eyes drifted down to where Tsukune's hand was rising up toward Moka with a metallic cylinder in it.

When Moka's eyes recognized the item, she nearly gasped in surprise and suddenly she was the one who looked like she were about to break down into tears.

It was tomato juice.

"I am sorry, I hope you all can forgive me."

Kurumu had instantly understood the meaning of this gesture too. She turned away so neither could see her jealousy or hurt or…

To say that Kurumu's perspective on this had changed dramatically was an epic understatement.

Ruby was the only one close enough to see the warring emotions drift across Kurumu's visage now. She was also the only one that could possibly understand them, if only but a little.

Kurumu's heart now had multiple new layers of complications applied to it that had never been there before.

Moka bit back her tears and gently took the offered beverage from Tsukune's hand. She then responded to him with a slight but loving smile.

"We were just worried…is all. Nothing to forgive."

He gave her a weak smile and a nod then moved off towards the kitchen and back towards his room.

He stopped suddenly when he drew up parallel with Ruby as she took Kurumu up the stairs with her arm around Kurumu's waist.

Kurumu hid her face behind Ruby's body and head as Ruby sent him a glowing smile.

Now he probed them both with the same expression of disbelief Moka had just gave him moments before.

"I am…sorry."

Ruby smiled down at him brightly.

"Of course, Tsukune-kun. We're all just glad you're home and safe."

From the top of the stairs where she stood with the very tired looking Yukari and Kokoa, Mizore added her voice as well.

"We're just glad our Tsukune-kun is alright."

"It's true. It's…..true."

Yukari added on with a great yawn.

Kokoa wordlessly turned away and moved off toward the room she shared with her sister, an unreadable expression now gracing her face.

They all said their goodnights and Tsukune watched as all of them but Moka entered their respective rooms.

She looked down on him from the top of the stairs and held up the tomato juice before she spoke.

"Get some sleep."

He smiled up toward her and replied with a grin.

"I will. You too."

She nodded agreement and slowly began to move back toward her room to encourage him to also leave. He walked on till he disappeared under where she stood and she then stopped. She looked down at the tomato can in her hand and almost lost her self-control in that moment before she noticed a set of green eyes looking at her from inside the doorway of her darkened room.

"Go on to bed, Kokoa. I'll be there in a few."

Kokoa's worried frown only increased now but she was too devoted and dutiful to disobey her beloved sister.

"Yes….Onee-sama."

Kokoa's worried eyes never left her elder sister as she closed the door as slowly as she possibly could.

Only when she was sure she was alone did Moka move toward her room, but stopped short of entering. Instead, she took a fresh bath towel and hand towel from the linen closet then turned around and went into the larger of the two upstairs bathrooms.

The lights were off, and she left them that way.

She locked the door behind her and also locked the door that led to the adjacent water closet.

She moved over to the bathtub and sat the two towels on the edge before stepping in herself. She tilted the blinds to a position where the moonlight, clouds, and stars could be seen by someone sitting in the tub and then she sat down.

She rolled up the bath towel and placed it behind her head as a pillow. Once she had laid her head back into it she stared up through the blinds and the window towards the darkened heavens above.

The sound of a pop top opening filled the otherwise quiet room.

She sat there in the tub, looking up at the night sky, and slowly drank her tomato juice.

She forcefully didn't let her mind wander and thought only of the taste of the juice, the beauty of the infinite darkness above, and the gesture that her beloved Tsukune was trying to make with this gift.

Nearly fifteen minutes later that can was now completely empty.

She placed it on the floor beside the tub and now picked up the hand towel still on the edge.

She very calmly folded it over again and placed it into her mouth where she could bite down on it with force.

And she let go.

All her pain flowed from her into the muffled scream the hand towel now absorbed as best it could.

Streams of salty tears poured from her eyes as she convulsed, sobbed, and wailed her pain into the hand towel.

Her mother was dead.

Her sister was dead.

Their father was missing and also probably dead.

The pain flowed into her and through her. Through her jaw and her incisors and molars that compressed the fabric and suppressed the cries of pain and misery and…

…..guilt.

Guilt for having survived.

Guilt for wanting to live.

And worst of all, guilt for being jealous…..of her own mother.

The guilt of wanting him so badly that she couldn't mourn her own mother's death properly.

The guilt of hating her, because in her heart she knew that he had loved her more.

The guilt of secretly being glad she was gone.

"… _HER!"_

Moka wouldn't return to the room she shared with her sister till the sun began to rise that morning.

Kokoa pretended, very politely, to be asleep, though they both already knew it was a lie.

Neither would sleep again that morning.

* * *

The vampire girls had not been alone in their early morning insomnia.

She had let her guard down the one time, but that had been enough.

She would not fail her beloved again.

She lay there beside the softly breathing form of a sleeping Mizore, but Kurumu's mind was now focused squarely on the occupant in the room below.

Tsukune, not surprisingly, had passed out the second his head had hit the pillow.

That didn't mean the dangers had passed for him though.

Within minutes that pink haired demon that haunted him so had shown her ugly head again, trying to drag her Tsukune down once more into despair.

She fought that demon hard, all the rest of the early morning hours. Dragging his subconscious mind from one confrontation with the twisted ghost of "her" to only find "her" waiting around the next corner.

For the rest of that morning, Tsukune finally got to rest, and it had only cost Kurumu a few restless hours of sleep herself.

" _What is sleep compared to Tsukune's sanity?"_

Despite her bravado, she knew not sleeping so she could actively guard his dreams wasn't a long term solution.

If she weren't also suppressing their mate of fate bond, then she'd be able to actively share his dreams even while they slept.

If she were beside her secret husband in his bed every night, she'd be in an even better position to defend him from the twisted version of her now dead friend and rival that haunted him.

No, staying awake all night wasn't going to be a permanent solution, but she'd do it for as long as she had to, for his sake.

What else could a wife do, but protect her husband with everything she had to give?


	14. Slowly Onward Part II

Despite having to stay up for the rest of the morning to manage Tsukune's dreams, Kurumu knew her tiredness wasn't due to lack of sleep.

Blocking most of her telepathic connection to Tsukune took considerable effort to maintain. Separate minds were no longer their natural state, thus blocking the connection was fighting Mother Nature in a way.

She had got up an hour after sunrise and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The vampire sisters were the first to come down ten minutes later followed by Ruby, then Mizore, and finally Yukari.

Tsukune had woke between Moka and Kokoa coming down and Ruby, and had come out right as Mizore had appeared.

He gave them all warm smiles and pecks on the cheeks, much to Moka's subtle yet real annoyance. When he exchanged smiles and pecks with Kurumu she had returned it in kind.

He thought he was successfully deceiving her like he was the others, but they both knew his apparent good humor was all a gigantic façade. Moka, at least from the way she was looking at him with mild concern, also seemed to doubt his joviality was genuine.

After last night they all should plainly see now he was putting on an act for their benefit.

As Tsukune took the seat at the near end of the table that Moka had apparently just been warming for him until he arrived, Kurumu could already see a permanent seating pattern forming around this kitchen table after only the third meal here together.

Ruby, who had been in this house for months already, had set the first location around the table. She clearly liked the end of the table near the way to the water closet, garage, and Tsukune's bedroom suite.

After Moka and Ruby both insisted so, Tsukune took the opposite end of the table as the titular head of the household at yesterday's lunch, thus he now faced Ruby directly down the long side of the table.

It wasn't lost on Kurumu that Moka had already made a point of sitting in this same place whenever Tsukune wasn't in the room. She was both letting them all know who she thought was the top female in the house and also pointedly laying claim to ownership to the usual occupant of the chair as well.

The fact that even when Tsukune sat at the table Ruby had the next best seat from a prestige perspective and thus from an outsider's perspective might seem like the top woman of the house was apparently lost on Moka, who was more eager to sit next to him than in an apparent position of greater respect.

Kurumu then had made a point to claim the chair directly on Tsukune's right while Moka was seated in his chair, forcing her onto the bay window bench to his left once he sat down.

It was all silly really and didn't mean much in reality, but Kurumu was still proud she claimed the position on Tsukune's "good" side for herself.

On her own right and thus Ruby's left was where Mizore claimed her place.

Beside her sister on the bench, much to Yukari's obvious disappointment had become Kokoa's place, with Yukari on the other end of the bench between Kokoa and Ruby.

Three meals so far had resulted in the exact same seating arrangement, and Kurumu judged that as these things tend to go, it was probably all but permanent now.

After the meal, Tsukune had again awkwardly apologized for last night and the five girls that admitted their love for him freely stumbled all over each other to assure him it wasn't a big deal to varying degrees matching their personalities. The sixth girl at the table covered herself with sneers of derision for how the rest of them fawned sickeningly over him, except for her precious Onee-sama, of course.

"… _.um."_

Her lips involuntarily curled into a frown when thinking of that particular person. She quickly and purposefully dismissed Kokoa from her mind.

When Kurumu mentioned to them that they had to head back to the store today for more food they all seemed dumbstruck.

The truth was that yesterday's shopping excursion had mostly netted personal and household hygiene products and semi-permeant foodstuffs like boxed and bagged food and spices.

She had underestimated the number of vegetables, fish, and meats she'd need, thinking she had enough for four days but realizing now she'd barely get two days out of those same amounts.

The rice alone needed to feed the seven of them for three meals a day was staggering. Lunch today would probably wipe out what remained of the four-kilogram bag they had bought just yesterday. With a week to go before school started back, she was tempted to tell them all, except for Tsukune of course, that during the school term they had to eat in the cafeteria.

She sat on the edge of her bed now with a pencil in hand and a pad on her lap, putting in all the items she knew they needed and checking it over for missing things.

They had agreed to go after lunch, but somehow her going with Tsukune and another of the girls had, after rather vigorous debate, turned into all six girls taking the Bus, and letting Tsukune stay home to rest.

She wasn't looking forward to the expedition now nearly as much as she had before, especially with the prospect of herding all those girls and trying to maintain control of the effort while Silver pretended to be in charge the whole time.

" _Tsukune could use the rest though."_

She heard the sound of a large riding lawn mower passing by their window then.

Tsukune had been almost as eager to try it out as the Continental.

When he was awake, distractions like cutting grass helped them both out tremendously. Even with a riding mower, the huge property would take three or more restful hours for him to complete.

If he had something to focus his mind own, thoughts of "her" stayed in the back of his mind, and that was good for both of them too.

When he was asleep, like taking a nap while they were out shopping, even from as far away as the moon so long as she was awake she could manage his dreams, but it wasn't as relaxing as him being successfully distracted by something else.

" _Maybe I'll get him playing video games before we leave?"_

She knew those were great distractions for him, much better than cutting grass. Fully emersed in a fantasy world, he'd not let his ailing mind wander.

She put the pad and pencil down and stretched her arms out over her head to yawn.

This drew the attention of Mizore, who had been perusing a webpage on her laptop while she sat at the desk they shared now. She took her cooling lollipop from her mouth before speaking.

"Made your list and checked it twice?"

Kurumu shot the mildly smirking yukionna a joyless smile before rolling her eyes.

"You should have tried to go back to sleep."

Mizore had correctly guessed earlier that Kurumu didn't go back to sleep that morning and had suggested she do so now.

Kurumu rejected that suggestion as the only thing possibly worse for blocking Tsukune's thoughts or her own than them both being asleep at the same time would be for her to fall asleep while he was awake. She'd have virtually no control over what he heard from her mind in that situation. It would have been better to just open the bond up fully herself then and deal with the fallout than to let the realization pour into his mind uncontrolled and have him totally unprepared for it.

She had brushed off Mizore's suggestion with another made-up excuse though.

She wasn't ready for Mizore to know the truth, not yet.

They both flinched suddenly and exchanged odd expressions when they heard the sounds of a knock, not on their door, but the wall behind the bed.

Before either could speak or move a sudden magical portal appeared in the same wall between the bed and the door. They both stood rapidly and braced for anything.

You could even see the wooden joists and the drywall that formed the wall there in the portal gap. You could also see into the Plum Room next door, whose occupants now stepped through the portal into their room.

"Knock! Knock!"

Yukari stepped through with her wand in hand and the star on the end glowing, indicating this magic portal was her creation. She proudly wore her trademark broad-brimmed conical witch hat now, which made her look even odder than usual as she had on a yellow logo t-shirt and purple jean shorts instead of her usual modified school uniform.

Stooping in behind her through the obviously Yukari-sized portal was an apologetic looking Ruby in her usual gothic attire.

"Please excuse us for intruding."

Her wand was also in her hand and the purple orb glowed as she motioned that end of the wand at the wall with the hallway door in it. The lock immediately closed and the wall glowed purple for a split second.

"A…barrier?"

Ruby turned back and nodded to Mizore's question.

"A one-dimensional panel sound barrier, actually."

Seeing the two confused expressions looking back at her Ruby was about to respond but Yukari beat her to it.

"Means that we can hear from our side but no one else can hear from our side."

Mizore's expression became more serious as she turned back to Ruby with an even more curious look now.

"Why do we need to go stealth?"

Ruby's eyes drifted down to an equal part angry and embarrassed looking Kurumu as she replied.

"I think it's best we limit those that know certain things for the time being, don't you agree Kurumu-chan?"

" _Damn it! Not NOW!"_

Kurumu bristled and grit her teeth as the curious expressions of Mizore and Yukari now fell on her for answers.

Ruby sat down beside Kurumu on the bed and spoke to her with great sympathy.

"He's distracted now, right? Like I said yesterday, it's best to jerk a bandage off, less pain that way."

She could feel Yukari and Mizore's curiosity turn to suspicion as their probing glares now bore into her. She briefly shot Ruby a very dirty expression. For her part, Ruby took Kurumu's obvious anger with her in stride.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Yukari's pointed question came with furrowed brows. Mizore stayed quiet now, but her attention was squarely on her roommate.

" _Damn it, Ruby!"_

Now she didn't really have a choice anymore. The other two would hound her till she told them the truth.

She took in a deep breath, held it for five full seconds, and then let out a frustrated sigh. Only then did she begin her story.

"You guys remember how Tsukune was while we all were in Reverse Hong Kong?"

Everyone gravely nodded. Yukari blurted out an emphatic confirmation.

"Do we ever!"

Tsukune had been so focused on rescuing Moka from Fairy-tail that he became like a machine. He was so dedicated to his mission he fought sleeping and even eating to try to have even more time to master his own emerging Yokai abilities.

He took grave risks too, especially with his own life.

"We remember how both of you were then."

Mizore's expression was blank but her eyes bore into Kurumu uncomfortably. Since taking Tsukune into Moka's mind had greatly disturbed Kurumu, because of the intensity of his love for her, she had come back and progressively fallen into deeper and deeper despair as Tsukune seemed totally focused only on Moka.

Kurumu felt like she was dying of a broken heart back then. Even now that she knew the whole truth of Tsukune's heart, the memory of that time and how she felt still stung just as fresh as it did then.

"Remember when he went off with Master Touhou Fuhai and he didn't tell us why, but then I had a bad premonition something was wrong."

Yukari cringed, remembering how near to death Tsukune had come.

"Of course! We found out Master Touhou was performing the Ninety-Nine Needles procedure on him!"

Mizore's unreadable expression continued as she recounted the details of that time.

"Yeah, you all said he went crazy and turned back into a ghoul. That Master Touhou thought the only option then was to put him out of his misery, but that you arrived in time and were able to reach his mind long enough for Master Touhou to apply the last needle."

Yukari seemed over her awkwardness about the troubling memories and confirmed the facts now as she understood them with a happy smile.

"Then he was all better after that! It's true! It's true!"

Mizore had a rather suspicious sounding addendum to add to Yukari's bright sounding words as her eyes still were locked onto the almost miserable looking succubus.

"And so were you."

Kurumu was avoiding direct eye contact with Mizore as Yukari blurted out her reassuring catchphrase once more, seemingly oblivious to the building tension in the room.

"It's true! It's true!"

"Right….."

Kurumu awkwardly wet her dry lips with her tongue as she struggled to find the best way to tell these two the whole truth now. Ruby, with a sympathetic smile, placed her right hand on Kurumu's left one and gave her a reassuring nod.

Kurumu took in another deep breath, and let her words out with the long exhale.

"You see though, I didn't have time to put my tail on him, so I….I reached his mind by the quickest way I could."

She was steadying herself for the next and toughest words for her to say, but in a calm and clear t,one Mizore saved her from having to say the words herself.

"So you kissed him, right?"

Kurumu and Ruby stared back at her in stunned silence. Then Yukari spoke up with a mildly stunned look on her own face.

"She kissed…Tsukune?"

There was nothing accusatory in Yukari's question or tone, but Kurumu immediately became defensive.

"It was….the only thing I could do to save him."

Ruby, however, was still focused on the toneless and expressionless Mizore with a slight grin of admiration showing on her face.

"You knew?"

Mizore shrugged before replying, without ever showing a drop of what she felt behind her no-mask-like face.

"Not for certain, until now. I suspected though. When they both came back fine at first I thought it was a done deal. Then we headed off after Moka and I then assumed the opposite, which was the mate of fate bond didn't take because Tsukune was obviously still all about Moka."

"Mate of fate…..bond?"

Yukari asked in a tone that perfectly matched her plain confusion, but Kurumu was looking at Mizore now with deep suspicions of her own.

"How do you know about that?"

Mizore calmly replied to Kurumu's brusk inquiry.

"Back in the day the current boys' dorm was the only dorm, they only built the girls' dorm about twelve years ago. Guys were on the bottom floors and girls on the top ones, and everyone had to share rooms with a roommate."

When Kurumu didn't seem to get the point, Mizore spelled it out for her.

"Guess who my mother's roommate was."

Kurumu still didn't get it at first, but then shock and amazement showed on her face.

"…mom?"

For the first time since before she mentioned the kiss, Mizore showed the slightest bit of emotion on her face. It was a tiny smirk.

"They may have been rivals for that guy's affection, Saizou's dad, but they spent a lot of time together being roommates and usually they were in the same classes too. Your mom told my mom a lot about succubi. When mom found out you were my rival for Tsukune's heart she told me everything your mother had told her. So yeah, I've heard all about the mate of fate bond."

The room went silent as Mizore's face again dissolved into an emotionless mask. Yukari still had a perplexed expression on her face and Kurumu seemed like she still couldn't believe their moms had actually been roommates, much less that her mom told a yukionna anything about being a succubus.

"So…I guess you won, right?"

Mizore's toneless, seemingly emotionless question pierced the silence that had descended over the room. Only those that had become used to her, like her three companions now, could understand how much anguish she was bottling up behind that expressionless face.

Her heart was breaking, and they all knew it. That's when Yukari began to understand and began to panic.

"Huh…..what do you mean she won? Won what?"

Ruby tensed as her eyes looked to her left at the younger witch whose face now looked more desperate than confused, but it was Mizore, again tonelessly, never taking her eyes off the sad but irritated looking succubus sitting on the bed, who answered the question for her.

"Tsukune, she's won Tuskune. The mate of fate bond is for life. By succubi rules, they're already husband and wife."

Yukari's eyes widened even more and her jaw slackened as Mizore's words struck her now fragile mind like a sledgehammer.

"Wait…..what?"

Yukari's eyes began to dart furiously back and forth between all three of her companions, apparently searching for someone to refute the dire claim Mizore had just made. The yukionna and the succubus never looked her way though, still focused solely on each other.

"Are you saying…..are you saying Tsukune-kun…they're married? That's not…..that's not….."

Yukari began to stumble back towards the door in disbelief. Ruby rose to try to comfort and reassure her but then suddenly realized Yukari still had her wand in hand as the star at its tip began to ominously glow.

Wands can read their masters' mental states and reflect it by activating. Younger witches like Yukari have an even harder time not letting their emotions seep into their wands by accident. Ruby knew Yukari didn't mean to threaten any of them, she had only panicked, the wand reacting to her agitated state.

Instead of walking toward her to comfort her as she had planned to do, Ruby retook her place calmly beside Kurumu on the end of the bed and smiled benignly to her young friend with a reassuring smile.

"Yukari-chan, please calm down and listen to the whole story before jumping to any conclusions."

It was only then that Yukari seemed to realize she had inadvertently active her wand. She immediately seemed deeply embarrassed and was about to apologize to Ruby, when Mizore threw more fuel on the fire.

"What else is there to listen to? It's a done deal now. The mate of fate bond is for life, till death literally do them part."

Her wand didn't reactive, but poor Yukari began to panic again.

"Death? Death! What does she mean...death?"

Ruby held up a palm slowly to Yukari and again spoke to her in a reassuring tone.

"Yukari…calm down. Focus."

As Yukari tried to master her raging emotions, Ruby also resisted the urge to send Mizore a dirty look of exasperation.

She knew the yukionna was also fighting her own internal conflicted emotions.

If any more evidence of this was needed, the desk, chair, and wall around her had begun to frost over.

" _This is getting out of control."_

Not for the first time did Ruby have to suppress the urge to sigh when she thought how difficult a task she had ahead of her, getting all these girls to stay focused on the ultimate goal and not to war amongst themselves.

Ruby quickly worked to regain the initiative before anyone did or said something they would later regret.

"That's not exactly the case this time. As usual, our Tsukune-kun seems to be an exception to many established rules."

Both Yukari and Mizore sent her strange looks then, but Mizore quickly put that expression on the miserable looking Kurumu for an answer.

"What's Ruby talking about?"

Kurumu looked like she was biting her lower lip in frustration now. When she finally spoke that frustration was obvious to see and hear.

"She's right, once again our Tsukune-kun just can't be normal at anything."

After another long and awkward pause, Kurumu realized they were all waiting on her and after an equally long and dramatic sigh, she began speaking once more in frustration.

"Did my mom tell yours what it was like to experience the call of the bond?"

After a brief look of confusion, Mizore shook her head from side to side. Kurumu sighed again and began explaining.

"Well, that was before…right."

Ruby noticed that Kurumu seemed distracted halfway through her statement, and rather abruptly forced herself to stop and redirect.

" _Interesting."_

"Succubi, like yukionna, are a single sex species. We depend on human or other Yokai males to breed with. We only birth other succubi though, thus no males at all, all our offspring are female succubi no matter the species of the husband."

Mizore's face had become placid again, but there was less hostility obvious behind her expression now.

"It's the same for us, yukionna I mean."

Kurumu nodded vaguely and continued. Yukari and Mizore both now focused on her words as if she'd tell them the secret of life at any moment.

"Where we differ is that while yukionna can generally fall in love with any male and have children with them, we can't."

This was something Ruby already knew, thanks to Oyakata-sama's book, and Mizore also clearly knew this too by her lack of amazement. Yukari though was obviously learning new and valuable info with each word from the succubus's lips. Her eyes widened with each statement.

"For each succubus, there's only a one in fifteen million chance of finding a compatible mate of fate to breed with."

Yukari could no longer contain her amazement when she heard this.

"But…..that's next to impossible. You might never find a mate of fate…..ever, at those odds."

Ruby, who fully knew how tired, distracted, angry, and exhausted Kurumu really was, decided she had best take some of the burdens off her friend when she could. She turned to answer Yukari's question.

"Mother Nature gives the succubus ways to compensate for this numbers complication though, right?"

Kurumu inhaled heavily before agreeing to that assessment.

"Yeah….."

Then she continued on with her explanation.

"When we reach puberty, we develop the ability to sense genetically compatible males. It's kind of like a sense of smell, but then it's also kind of like a telepathic sense. We wrap it all in mysticism and legends but at the end of the day, it's simple biology for us. We are biologically wired to find the right man with the right genes to mate with, otherwise, we can't produce daughters. I've never heard two succubi describe their experience the exact same way either."

Ruby threw in some more of her knowledge to give Kurumu a tiny break now.

"Oyakata-sama's book speculates that it's the pheromones of compatible males that succubi can detect. Of course there's been no scientific research on it to verify that hypothesis."

Kurumu vaguely shrugged to that, then wearily turned to ask Mizore a question.

"Did Tsurara-san ever say anything about a Near?"

After furrowing her brow in thought, Mizore again shook her head from side to side.

"A 'Near'? Not that I can remember being mentioned."

Kurumu nodded, then began to speak again.

"Mom might not have known about that back then, it was before…."

Ruby again noticed that as Kurumu was coming to the end of a statement she forcefully stopped herself and redirected. For the briefest moment, an indescribably painful look went over the succubus's features, but it was so brief Ruby couldn't be sure it was anything significant.

"Anyway. A Near is a man that at least partially is genetically compatible with a succubus. Before Tsukune, I had no way of knowing what it was like to detect your mate of fate outside of what my relatives told me of their own experiences, each sounding different from the other."

Kurumu readjusted herself and then began to speak again.

"My aunt couldn't resist my uncle at all, not that she would have tried to anyway. She tracked him down from his….'scent' and launched herself at him without them ever having said a word to each other. They learned each other's names with all the other info transmitted by the first kiss through the bond."

"Wait a second…"

Yukari again had a stunned expression on her face as she asked her obviously burning question.

"You have a telepathic link….TO TSUKUNE?"

Ruby stepped in before Yuakri could get sidetracked again.

"Yes, she does Yukari-chan…."

Now Yukari's eyes bulged so much Ruby thought they might fall to the floor at any moment. The excited young witch began to stammer out her next question.

"But that's….."

"AND…we'll get to that in a minute."

Yukari was about to protest but Ruby's calm smile forced her to back down, with the promise that answers were forthcoming enough to sate her intense curiosity for the moment.

"Please Kurumu-chan, continue."

Kurumu wearily nodded to Ruby.

"Right….."

Then she began again.

"For my grandmother…."

She paused here again, but the look on her face this time was obvious to judge because she clearly felt some awkwardness over mentioning her grandmother. She all but confirmed that awkwardness with her next statement.

"Let's say, there were complicating factors, but she managed to hold out on kissing my grandfather for a few weeks."

Having something to now compare it to, Ruby deduced the common theme to her other two awkward pauses. She also realized then that Kurumu had talked about her aunt's experience, and now her grandmother.

" _Still no mention of her own mother's experience though."_

Was it not natural to talk about your own parents' similar experience first? Why go to the aunt and uncle first, then the grandparents, while still skipping her own parents?

The two awkward pauses before had been when she was seemingly about to talk about Ageha's own situation, but she forced herself to stop. Now she's ignoring her mother's experience in favor of her aunt and grandmother?

" _Why?"_

Ruby tucked that away for later analysis and refocused on Kurumu's words.

"And how they knew the particular men we're their mates of fate all were different too, so when I first met Tsukune-kun, I assumed right away he was my mate of fate because I sensed it and to me it was more than powerful enough, but as time went on without kissing him I began to doubt it all because even though I desired him greatly, I shouldn't have been able to hold out as I did for months, according to all the stories I had heard. So I started to get confused by my strange ability to hold out. No succubus I have ever heard of went as long as I did."

She again wet her lips before continuing.

"When I brought it up to my super-g-ma….."

"You're what?"

Yukari asked the question, but Ruby and Mizore both had never heard that term before and directed curious gazes toward Kurumu. Kurumu also looked confused, but by their reactions.

"Super-g-ma…..oh right! My great-great-grandmother…"

Mizore and Ruby instantly understood it was a short-hand way to avoid having to say "great" over and over again, but Yukari was astonished by Kurumu's answer.

"YOU'RE GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER? SHE'S ALIVE?"

Kurumu sent the younger witch a dirty look as if she were insulting her super-g-ma. Ruby wanted to clear the air quickly between them by resolving Yukari's confuse.

"Succubi live fairly long lives Yukari-chan. It's not unusual for there to be seven, eight, or even nine living generations at a time."

Yukari instantly realized her mistake, since she already knew about long-lived species like this, vampires being a great example of a very long-lived species too.

"OH! Oh, right, sorry."

Kurumu still twisted her lip up at the youngest person in the room but was apparently satisfied enough with the apology to continue without comment.

"When I finally brought it up to her she said Tsukune was probably a Near for me. Really all mates of fate are actually Nears to some varying degree. My uncle was clearly nearer a hundred percent compatible for my aunt while my grandfather was slightly less for my grandmother, and thus reflected by her ability to resist kissing him for longer."

Ruby tried not to show that she was thinking of something else while she listened.

" _Again, no mention of Ageha, or her….FATHER."_

It then struck Ruby that Kurumu, nor her mother, had ever mentioned her father before. At least not that Ruby knew of. True, today was the first time she had mentioned having an aunt and grandmother….and super-g-ma, but still, a father was something a child usually wouldn't skip mentioning for nearly two years to her friends."

" _And he obviously is Ageha's mate of fate too, but where is he? And why has Kurumu never mentioned her own father before?"_

Yukari's next question brought her mind back to the topic at hand.

"So kissing seals the bond?"

Ruby decided this was another great time for Kurumu to have a mini-break and answered for her instead.

"Yes, the transfer of bodily fluids between compatible individuals allows their minds to synchronize, opening the bond between them to telepathically communicate. The actual science behind it is unknown and they're probably is a huge component of magic that makes it possible too."

It was only then she saw Kurumu sending her a strange look and began to wonder if she were stepping on her friend's toes instead of helping.

"According to Oyakata-sama's notes…sorry."

After Ruby's meek and recalcitrant sounding statement addendum, Kurumu's expression softened.

"Sounds about right."

It was Mizore's turn to again ask Kurumu a question.

"So Tsukune-kun was more like a fifty/fifty Near?"

Kurumu twisted her lips briefly before affirming her friend's assessment.

"Probably. My super-g-ma said the best way to find out was to kiss him. She couldn't understand why I hadn't already. We'd either both bond and be mates of fate for life…or…."

The look of remembered fear and dread on her face was easy for everyone that witnessed it to understand. They all had the same fears where Tsukune was concerned because they all wanted the same things from him.

"That's why you didn't kiss him though, right? The 'or' part?"

Kurumu didn't directly answer Mizore's next question, because they all already knew it was the truth.

"It's very hard to find a mate of fate, given the numbers, that's obvious, but by that point, I….."

Again her remembered dread shown on her face. Ruby threw a warm arm around her friend's shoulders and gave a smile to the sad looking succubus.

"You didn't want to know because you were already in love with him, but if you kissed him and he wasn't your mate of fate you'd have to move on from him."

Kurumu sent her a sad expression back, then turned away to sadly nod confirmation.

"Yeah…"

Mizore asked another question then.

"Then….after Moka gave him her blood, things began to change, right?"

"Huh, how so?"

Yukari seemed confused by the meaning behind Mizore's question, but Kurumu now explained it for all of them.

"It became…..more difficult, to resist him."

Yukari instantly had a Eureka moment then.

"So Moka's blood…..changed Tsukune, making him even MORE compatible to be your mate of fate?"

Ruby felt now that it was safe to again answer for Kurumu and did so.

"That's probably why Kurumu was having an even tougher time dealing with Tsukune's dedication towards Moka while we were in Reverse Hong Kong."

Kurumu gave a small shrug then agreed.

"As good of a guess as I can come up with for it."

After a pause of a few seconds, she began speaking again.

"When I did finally kiss him, we both immediately passed out because of both of our extreme mental and physical conditions at the time. When I woke, I couldn't sense him at first, but I did feel a lot better, so I just assumed…"

Again her remembered sadness showed on her face as if it were fresh in her heart. Mizore finished her statement for her with a sympathetic look on her face.

"…it was over?"

After exchanging a long look of understanding with the yukionna, Kurumu nodded and continued.

"Of course, we all immediately went on the mission to rescue Moka in the Hanging Garden, and with all our lives constantly on the line…I guess neither of us had time to rest long enough to let our minds wander and find each other."

That memory too seemed to cause her pain, but Mizore's next statement brightened Kurumu up a bit.

"But in the Hanging Garden, you were always able to find Tsukune-kun no matter where he was though."

She took in a deep breath then, before speaking.

"I…suppose so."

"And he, you as well."

Hearing that from Ruby seemed to raise her spirits even more.

"Yeah, it was probably the bond, but we were all too distracted to focus on anything but the threats in our immediate faces at the time."

She nodded more to herself than to them and went on.

"It wasn't till we had left Minato Mirai, and things calmed down a lot, that it finally dawned on me that I could sense his emotions and even strong thoughts. It was on the Bus ride home that I fully figured it all out."

"That's when the two of you started finishing each other's statements."

Even Yukari seemed to notice how in sync the two had been for the last two day.

"And that's when you began suppressing the bond, right?"

Ruby's statement was needed for the group's clarity, but it still made Kurumu slightly more depressed. Seeing her deflate, Ruby regretted that she had to point that fact out.

"Suppressing it? Why would you do that?"

Kurumu sent Yukari and incredulous look as if what she had asked was completely stupid and thoughtless. Luckily she didn't transmit that feeling to her tone as she answered.

"Think about what Tsukune has been through the last few days."

Yukari was a very smart young woman and immediately got Kurumu's point.

"Oh….oh."

Yukari looked sad and mortified to have been so obtuse just then, but Kurumu swiftly moved on to another point behind her suppressing the bond with Tsukune.

"That's not all though. Remember Ruby mentioned earlier that this bond was different?"

Mizore asked her to explain.

"How so?"

Kurumu looked like she were about to answer but also looked like she suddenly felt pain in her head. Her hands immediately rubbed at her temples and she tightly closed her eyes.

Ruby still heard the distant sound of the lawn mower so she ruled out something happening directly with Tsukune as the cause behind Kurumu's sudden discomfort.

She was about to ask her what was wrong when Kurumu spoke out first.

"I need…to relax for a bit. Can you take over?"

Kurumu's back was already on the mattress before Ruby could even reply.

"Yes, if you'll correct me when I am wrong."

A mildly irritated head nod confirmed she could listen and correct, then Ruby took over the story for her.

"So, Kurumu-chan still felt Tsukune-kun's deep love for Moka-san…..and Moka-chan, even after she sealed the bond with him."

Mizore asked a confused sounding question then with her brows deeply furrowed.

"That's not normal. Mom said that Ageha-san told her that when a mate of fate bond is sealed, even with another woman's husband, that he can never love any woman again but his succubus."

Ruby nodded to her as she continued.

"And according to Kurumu-chan and Oyakata-sama's book that has always been the case, until now."

Yukari snickered then and covered her laughter with the back of her hand as she smirked down past Ruby to where Kurumu was still rubbing at her temples.

"Hehe! A whole race of happy home wreckers, hehe! Not surprising at all!"

This elicited a brief death stare from Kurumu, before she again closed her eyes and refocused on relieving her pain and weariness.

"Tsukune-kun…..is different though?"

Ruby nodded again to Mizore as she answered.

"He shouldn't have had eyes for anyone but Kurumu-chan after their kiss, but she could feel his deep love for Moka-san, both of them, and yes, it was romantic love he held for them that she felt."

Mizore's eyes finally widened at this news, but it was Yukari that had the next question.

"What about his feelings for Kurumu, though?"

Kurumu then let out a frustrated sigh before speaking.

"Yes, he is also deeply in love with me too."

She never opened her eyes and continued to rub at her temples as she answered.

"That…..should not be possible."

Kurumu sat up now and smirked back with irritation towards Mizore.

"HA! Tell me about it!"

Then she began to descend into a potential tirade on the topic.

"He's always got to be the exception though! DOESN'T HE?"

Ruby put a reassuring arm around her agitated companion again.

"Focus on suppressing your bond Kurumu-chan. Getting upset with him will only make it harder."

After a brief look of irritation for Ruby, Kurumu again closed her eyes and focused on taking steady, deep breaths.

Yukari still didn't seem like she completely understood what was going on though.

"So he's in love with Moka-chan, and Moka-san, AND Kurumu?"

Always far too blunt, Yukari got straight to the point. Mizore also slightly leaned in, a clear indication of her interest in the answer. Ruby's awkward look was all the indication anyone seeing her now would need to know that she didn't feel conformable answering this one.

"Go on!"

The terse reply from her right was the permission she needed to provide the other two in the room the answer.

"Tsukune's probably able to do this...be in love with multiple women besides Kurumu...because he's a shinso."

Yukari and Mizore's eyes widened again and they exchanged brief glances before refocusing on Ruby. Kurumu, eyes still closed tight, endorsed this guess with her own supporting statement.

"There's never been a mate of fate bond between a succubus and a vampire. Believe me, I would have heard that story if it had ever happened. We are a race of professional gossipers."

Ruby took the pause as an indicator to take over again and did so.

"Needless to say that there has never been a mate of fate bond between a succubus and a shinso before either since only four shinso have ever been known to exist."

Yukari twisted up her lips before speaking with another incredulous expression on her face.

"So it's just an educated guess, but it has a high probability to be true?"

Ruby nodded to her, but it was Mizore that had something to add to the point now.

"Well, he already has no normal vampire weaknesses like water or needing to drink blood, at least for the moment. If he can resist vampire weaknesses then succubus issues probably can be resisted too."

Kurumu let out a slightly irritated sound at this, but when she didn't speak Ruby did.

"My speculation is that his ability to be in love with more than one of us was a 'pre-existing condition' that because of his shinso powers, succubi genetics and magic couldn't overcome it."

Kurumu was the first to pick up on what Ruby had just revealed and let out a low growl.

"Errrrrrrr."

It might have slipped pass the other two girls for a while had she not growled, but Yukari then took in a sharp sounding inhale, before suddenly speaking out in excitement.

"Wait just a second….."

"Errrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Kurumu's next growl interrupted Yukari, but made Mizore's eyes now bulge wide in her slender face.

"Did you just say…"

"Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

By this last growl, Kurumu's angry eyes were open and glaring back and forth at the two of them, but they didn't see her at all now.

Both had stunned open mouths that bees could safely make hives inside of without fear of closure.

Both had now understood what Ruby had meant when said "his ability to be in love with more than one of….US."

"YES!"

Kurumu's angry pronouncement made Ruby glad again for the sound barrier covering the room's inner wall. Moka and Kokoa would both have heard this shout and come running otherwise.

"DAMN IT! YES!"

She angrily crossed her arms and stewed in anger as she let out all her pent up frustrations.

"HE'S DAMN-WELL IN LOVE WITH ME! AND YOU! AND YOU! AND THAT SILVER-HAIRED HUSSY OUT THERE TOO!"

Finally, she seemed to have released most of it from her system and only mildly nodded with irritation towards the still completely stunned Yukari.

"….even YOU. Though your age is still a big mental speedbump for him…..FOR NOW!"

"He's…..he's in love with….me?"

Kurumu's anger was palpable as the young witch looked like she had entered a state of Nirvana.

"…..YES!"

That angry answer finally made Yukari's head turn in Kurumu's direction, but her eyes were still glazed over in shock, reflected by her next disbelieving question.

"Are you certain? I mean…."

Kurumu was near her breaking point and replied in anger.

"OF COURSE, I'M CERTAIN!"

Kurumu blurted out in supreme frustration as her anger continued to rolled off her tongue.

"What possible advantage to me could there be to lie about you or the rest having a piece of my Tsukune's…"

Ruby tightened her arm around Kurumu and leaned in to whisper gently into her ear.

"Relax, breath, focus."

As she tried to steady herself the room had gone quiet. Mizore had also been strangely quiet for some time now, but it was only now they noticed. She seemed to be mumbling to herself with an unreadable expression on her face. They even began to lean in to try to hear her words.

Then they could finally hear her words.

"He…..loves me. He's…..IN LOVE…with…..me?"

Kurumu just barely avoided another growl and then sent the yukionna and sneering and sarcastic retort.

"You just going to ignore the fact he's in love with the rest of us too? Must be nice!"

From her left, Yukari, still not believing what she had heard, managed to get Kurumu's rage refocused on her.

"So…he's…..with me…too?"

"…..YES!"

Yukari ignored her anger and began to inquire further on the topic.

"But my age is…"

Kurumu nearly growled at her now.

"Look! You're twelve. What he feels for you…..HELL! What he feels for all of us is…"

As Kurumu began to falter on the right way to respond, Ruby had a quick guess to support her with.

"Very complicated?"

Kurumu sighed heavily and hung her head down despondently as she began to reply.

"…..yeah, complicated as….."

Ruby saw the signs of another tirade developing and quickly moved to snap it off before it began.

"So, one of the complications for his feelings for Yukari-chan is her age, which is understandable since you are only twelve."

Yukari still seemed dazed by it all. For that matter so did Mizore. Yukari still seemed in disbelief though.

"But he's in love with ME? RIGHT?"

"I DAMN WELL ALREADY…"

Ruby gently tugged the suddenly bolting Kurumu back down into her arm-hold as she responded to Yukari.

"Yes, Yukari-chan. Kurumu-chan has already said so."

Yukari's eyes began to glow, the haze of amazement and doubt finally lifting from them. Her lips curled upward and then she began to laugh.

"Ha…Haha…..HAHA! HAHAHAHAH! YESS! YES! YES!"

Yukari was celebrating a victory of epic proportions for her. Ruby understood, but the tight and angry coil of succubus beside her was barely containing her urge to pummel the poor little witch to death.

" _And this is why I put up that sound barrier."_

Mizore, who had turned back to face her laptop and away from the others was feeling at her face with her hands as if she were stuck in an alien body she didn't recognize. She still seemed dazed by it all, but the glow in her eyes and the beaming smile on her face were radiant to behold as she mumbled over and over again.

"He loves me. He loves me. Tsukune-kun loves me."

Suddenly Kurumu let out another cry and again forced her eyes closed, balling her fists up next to her temples.

"AWWWWWW!"

All three of her companions now leaned in toward her in concern, Yukari spoke up for all of them then.

"It…causes you pain? His love for us? Like what happened over Moka in Reverse Hong Kong."

Kurumu slowly opened her eyes and moved her head from side to side, still in obvious discomfort with her fists still pressing into the sides of her skull.

"IT CAUSES ME A LOT OF FRUSTRATION!"

"Kurumu-chan….."

Ruby was still concerned for her, but Kurumu finally lowered her fists and spoke to them then in a forced calm voice.

"No….it's not like then. It doesn't…..hurt."

Mizore, having witnessed Kurumu's condition first hand in Reverse Hong Kong, still had her doubts.

"Really, how can that be?"

"I DON'T…I don't…..honestly know. I KIND OF WISH IT DID! Kind of…"

Mizore and Ruby exchanged curious glances, but again it was Yuakri with the next question.

"What….what does this all mean though?"

Seeing the other three looking back with odd expressions, Yukari clarified her meaning.

"I mean, when she finds out…."

"She" needed no explaining. One of the people who were in love with Tsukune who lived now in this house had purposefully been excluded from this conversation, for a reason.

"That's a bridge we'll cross…."

Kurumu finished Ruby's reply for her.

"….when we get there."

Mizore's skepticism in this delaying tactic was clear in the tone behind her question.

"So….we're not telling Moka-san?"

Kurumu bit off an angry sounding reply.

"Are you crazy? Of course, we aren't telling her!"

"Not until she's been made ready to hear it."

Ruby's last statement drew looks to her from the others that seemed to indicate they thought she had lost her mind by saying that.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Kurumu shook her head and looked from the disbelieving Mizore to the downright terrified looking Yukari.

"I said the same thing when we discussed this at the store yesterday. There's no way SHE will ever accept this. EVER!"

Ruby understood why they all had their doubts that Moka could ever accept that Tsukune wasn't just in love with her. The truth was Ruby, who had developed a general idea behind how to weld this group into a real family hadn't fleshed out how to fold their most...dominate personality, into her plans.

She had to be honest with them.

"I….haven't completely figured that out yet, but…"

She took a steadying breath and mustered her strength to begin to tell the younger witch and the yukionna what she had already discussed with the succubus.

"We will get her there. We will find a way to make this work."

Both Yukari and Mizore spoke the same confused question at the same time.

"Make…..what work?"

A broad grin stretched itself across Ruby's lovely and delicate features.

"Yukari-chan, Mizore-chan, I'm glad you asked."


	15. Slowly Onward Part III

As far as family visits go this one had set a new record low in Gin's book.

Ayako had spent the whole evening, to everyone's mutual amazement, expertly pretend that Gin wasn't there and had actually died. She even acted completely astounded and fascinated when Haiji told them all what they have been up to for most of the last three years, including recent climatic events, with Ayako acting like she was truly interested in Gin's life, only to crush his dreams of reconciling quickly by telling Haiji he told a wonderful story, but that Gin was dead so it was all fiction, but she did encourage him to put it into a book and promised to buy a copy.

It was the most uncomfortable and awkward dinner of his entire life, and in this family that was a truly remarkable achievement.

Even their great-grandfather had found the whole thing at least mildly interesting, as only that old bastard could.

Akaio looked up at him now with sympathy.

"She'll get over it, you'll see."

Her reassuring words seemed not to register in her brother's ears. She had her arm looped inside his as they walked through the hallway of the upper floor of one of the Morioka Building's towers, Haiji a few steps behind obliviously happy as he chatted and flirted with Fumiko, Yujiko, and Katsura.

They had said their goodbyes to the rest of the family a few floors down in the Residence shortly after breakfast.

Tsukiko, Nami, and Nishi had seen them off, the old man, apparently having found breakfast more than sufficient a sendoff, wasn't present.

Ayako had skipped breakfast and the subsequent sendoff entirely. Gin had mixed feeling about not seeing her again before he left.

After how she had ignored him so forcefully the previous evening, Gin couldn't say he was sorry to have missed a repeat performance of that this morning, even though he very much hated leaving without winning her back to his side.

His Aunt had apologized for her youngest's rude behave and like his sister now, tried to reassure him that it was just a temporary schism between them. The twins, of course, cried and hugged and kissed and licked him to the point he felt he needed yet another bath.

Despite their feminine exuberance for him being a bit overwhelming, Gin would miss them too.

He loved his family very much, which made dealing with all the pressures from them very hard on his heart.

Eventually, Gin managed a half-hearted reply and smile for his worried elder sister.

"Sure…everything will be fine by the next visit."

Her continued sad expression of sympathy for him let him know he was doing a poor job of convincing her he believed his own words.

They reached the stairs that led up to the automatic doors that opened onto the helipad atop this building. When they entered the glassed-in waiting area they could see the Morioka International tilt-rotor waiting for them.

They made their goodbyes to the ladies here. Gin was genuinely tempted to hug Katsura, but he realized this would have embarrassed her beyond belief, and also put more unneeded friction between his extremely bro-con elder sister and her, which could only make Katsura's life more difficult.

Their formal bow to each other and her warm smile and eyes for him would have to suffice.

The three seated themselves aboard and buckled in while the copilot made the last external checks before entering the cockpit. A few moments later the engines began to whine and the propeller blades began to spin up. Less than a minute later they lifted off the helipad and began to drift off over the side of the building.

Then Haiji's breath being sucked in suddenly brought the sibling's attention to where he was looking back down at the helipad with surprised wide eyes.

"What the hell?"

Now both siblings mirror Haiji's stunned and terrified expressions.

"AYAKO!"

After her initial shriek of shock Akaio added on with obvious concern in her voice.

"Foolish girl!"

Below, to his horror, Gin saw Ayako crawling across the helipad on all fours near the door entrance.

Had she been a human girl, and thus without claws to bury into the helipad surface, the backwash of the twin-propeller blades from the tilt-rotor would have blown her over the side of the building with ease.

As if to demonstrate the point, Katsura, from the hallway through the pinned open doorway, was struggling mightily against the artificial wind, trying to reach Ayako's leg to pull her back inside while her two companions worked to keep her from also flying away. Her kimono seemed to catch every gust of window.

Gin slammed his fist onto the intercom button.

"THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THE HELIPAD! PULL AWAY BEFORE WE BLOW THEM OVER!"

The pilots, focused on their jobs, were stunned by this sudden and unexpected news.

["Sir? I…"]

"JUST DO IT!"

They all felt the sudden sideways lurch of the craft as it pulled away from the buildings, but their eyes never stopped focusing on the tiny girl on the helipad. Instantly freed of the blowing winds, she stood and ran towards the edge of the helipad, arms outstretched as if pleading to the craft.

"GINEI! COME BACK! GINEI! PLEASE!"

As the three ladies were finally able to charge across the helipad after her a sudden blur rounded past the outside of their rushing forms.

"PLEASE! I'M SORRY! PLEASE COME BACK!"

Tsukiko, obviously frantic with fear for her daughter's life, had her firmly locked down now inside her embrace before the rest could get halfway to her. As they tried to usher mother and daughter back inside the three ladies noticed they could not be moved. The daughter had a death grip through her claws into the tarmac, and her mother wasn't going to ever let go of her.

"GENEI!"

They could see through the portals in the side of the craft how the four women below were struggling to pull Ayako back into safety and failing at it.

"CIRCLE BACK!"

"Huh?"

"We have to go back!"

"But Gin….."

"NOW!"

Akaio knew by the force and fury in his voice that this was the only way to sate her brother's worries. She calmly pressed down on the intercom button and spoke.

"Please arrange to land again."

["….ma'am?"]

The pilot, still obviously confused by what had just happened, couldn't process the seemingly opposite order to the one he had just received moments before.

"We need to return to the tower. Do it now."

["Yes…..yes ma'am."]

Four men in suits that they knew were security men came out. It was clear Ayako didn't want to go back but whatever they told her finally worked as she was suddenly ushered inside cocooned in a layer of adults. Only about thirty seconds after they went into the glass enclosure did the tilt-rotor finally begin to descend back to the helipad.

Once it landed again and the blades stopped spinning, Gin opened the door and stepped out.

"Alright, let her go."

At Tsukiko's instructions, the security guard now barring the door stepped aside and in a flash, the young werewolf was past him and back on the pad.

For the first time this visit, she finally locked eyes with him.

"GINEI!"

He flung his arms wide open and dropped to one knee as she rushed him, tears having turned her eyes red and still flowing down her cheeks in streams.

"GINEI!"

She slammed into him and he took her full force with ease. She was nearly strangling him with how ferocious her arms were locked about his neck. His own arms had her around her tiny waist and he had to resist the urge to lift her up and spin her about in joy.

He didn't even realize he too was also crying now.

From the open hatchway to the tilt-rotor Akaio had to dap at her eyes with a handkerchief, just like their aunt was doing right outside the doorway to the interior of the tower, two of the guards there beside her. The three ladies, though behind tinted glass, clearly were weeping now, as was Haiji from his place at one of the tilt-rotor windows, though he tried to hide it.

"I'm sorry Gin-Gin-kun! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to….."

He could feel her desperation and anguish through their embrace. She was so upset she was shaking. He wanted to alieve her of that terrible burden on her heart.

"No, it's my fault!"

He tightened his grasp around her as he spoke.

"I shouldn't have stayed away so long! I should have called you! I shouldn't have hidden away from you!"

Only now did he pull back enough for them to look into each others' tear-filled eyes once more.

"It's me that needs your forgiveness!"

Her lips trembled as she violently shook her head from side to side.

"But it's my fault! I treated you so badly! I pretended you were dead! I ignored you! How can you ever forgive me?"

"Oh, Ayako-chan! There is nothing to forgive! All of this is my fault!"

She didn't seem to hear him as she closed her eyes against her own tears and wails.

"Please forgive me! I promise! I promise I will!"

He used his hand to brush away the hair now matting to her tears on her checks from the constant wind up this high on such a building.

"You'll what, dear?"

"I'll be good! I'll be good to you!"

He smiled at her through his anguish, realizing he had caused all of this and put her through such pain because of his own selfishness.

"You're always good! There's no need…"

Her words flew out tumbling over his own. The desperate sounds took some time to register in his mind.

"I'll be a good wife to you! I promise I will!"

Gin felt as if someone had gut-punched him when he heard her.

"I'll be your best wife! The most humble! The most loving! The most attentive!"

It was the first time she had ever mentioned to him what both of them knew was expected of them for all of their lives.

"You'll be so proud of me! I'll never make you sad again! You'll never find fault with me and I'll give you healthy sons and daughters!"

These "cousins", these secret half-siblings, like the other three siblings they shared, were to be married…...

"I promise you I will! I promise! Please just forgive me! Please!"

…..to him.

Before now, before this moment when she finally acknowledged to him that she fully knew what was expected of her by the family, these two had always been just a loving and devoted elder brother and younger sister.

Now Ayako's admittance to what they had always known deep inside was the truth of their existence had shattered his own denials of this reality.

If the old man and the other adults in the family got their way, Ayako, like Akaio and the twins, would cease to be his sisters and become his brides instead.

"Ayako-chan…."

At that moment, in her own words, something precious to Gin beyond measure had seemingly been lost to him forever.

He had to somehow get his precious and innocent sibling relationship with his imouto back from the abyss before he lost it forever.

"I forgive you if you forgive me."

His words filled her with obvious joy as she flung her arms around his neck once more.

"I DO! I FORGIVE YOU!"

She was so overjoyed that she even conceded that he had done something that required her own forgiveness back.

"I'll make you happy Gin-Gin-kun! You'll see! You'll see! I promise!"

Suddenly his only path forward became clear before him.

 _"My…..happiness?"_

He knew now just what to say to her to win back his "little sister" from the clutches of the "wife" she apparently desperately now wanted to be.

He again held her out before him so they could look each other in the eyes.

"Do you want to make me happy Ayako-chan?"

She nodded enthusiastically as he asked her again.

"Really, truly happy?"

"More than anything in the world!"

Here he found his opening, past the coating of family duty and expectations to where her innocent heart lay beneath.

"Then you must promise to do something for me. Can you do that for me?"

Her head bobbed up and down in excitement for having a vital task to perform for her beloved Gin-Gin-kun's sake.

"Oh YES! Anything! Anything at all!"

He smiled and once again brushed her streaming hair out of her damp face.

"Then promise me, that at least for now, for the next few years, until you're fully grown….."

Her glowing smile seemed to fade as his words seemed to bring her already troubled mind more doubts.

"…that you'll forget all this about marrying me, and having my children…"

Now her smile completely collapsed into a frown of confusion as tears threatened to fall again.

"…and that you'll just try to have fun, and be a kid for as long as you can."

Her confusion and suspicion were painfully apparent on her face, but Gin couldn't give up on this beautiful relationship with her for the one that was expected of them.

"Can you do that, for me? For my sake? For the sake of my heart?"

He had pinned her into a corner and her desire to please him warred across her face with her desire to be the equal of their sisters in his eyes.

"But…I….I'm to be your wife, like Nami and Nishi and Akaio-nee."

Gin forced a smile for her and a confirming nod from his head.

"Yes, I know….."

It was neither acceptance of what was expected, nor a dismissal of it.

"…but for now, I want you to promise me…."

He hoped not rejecting her desire to be one of his future wives was enough to placate her, at least for the time being.

"…..that you'll put that into the back of your mind, and concentrate on school, and having friends, and playing, and having a good time and just…..living your life as a normal girl should."

Again he tenderly touched her cheek as he brushed her hair away, seeing the conflicting desires of her heart streaming across the beautiful little face.

"Can you do that for me?"

"I don't….I…"

He was so close to winning her back, winning his sister back, he had to keep at least this one sister-wife of his innocent and pure for now. He had to have one total sister only, and it had to be her.

"You see, seeing and knowing you are happy, just being you, will fill my heart with unbridled joy."

Her face softened and her confusion and frown seemed to melt away and he took her back into his full embrace and whispered into her ear over the sounds of the wind and the idling engines of the tilt-rotor.

"There's more than enough time to worry about adult things like marriage and children later. We will ALWAYS have each other, no matter WHAT!"

He could feel her tiny form melt into him in relief and joy.

"But for now, knowing that you are having a wonderful time just being the sweet girl you are, will make my heart soar with joy."

She sighed and buried her head in the crook of his neck as he continued.

"Can you promise me you'll do that for me?"

She was special to him, not just because he was her favorite too, but because up until this visit she had been the one he could depend on to just be his sister, and nothing else.

That relationship was something Gin couldn't allow to die an easy death. He had to fight for his imouto for as long as he could.

"My special Ayako-chan?"

She let out a cry of joy at his words before rapturously agreeing.

"….yes! Anything for YOU Gin-Gin-kun!"

He pulled her tighter into him, oblivious that though they hadn't been overheard at all due to all the noise up here, their actions had filled even the hardest heart watching with happiness, and the driest of eyes with joyous tears.

Here he and his little sister were in their own special world together.

"I love you, Ginei."

She did love him, beyond any doubt.

"I love you too, Ayako-chan."

He could love her as he wanted to love her for a little while longer now.

As his sister.

They didn't see the eyes looking down at their drama from behind the darkened glass panels of the adjacent tower. Nokiba watched his great-grandchildren reconcile and was pleased. At the end of the day, what was more important to him than forcing Ginei to conform to his wishes was bringing him back into the family. If no one else could do so, then he was happy to let Ayako do so.

There was plenty of time for his prodigal great-grandson to come to heel, and if Ayako was the leash to tie him back into the pack with, then so be it.

* * *

It had been a great idea and right after lunch, Tsukune went right to it. Truth was, he knew he could use some distractions and playing video games always let him drift off into another world.

A world where he didn't have to think about losing…..

 _"…her."_

Before the girls had left for round two of grocery shopping, Kurumu had reminded him that he hadn't tried out the game room yet, especially the massive high definition television in there.

Now he was embroiled in a first-person shooter and making his way across the various boards of the game. His mind focused on one fully distracting thing, and not wandering aimlessly in avoidance of potentially painful thoughts and memories like before.

It may well have been the first time in weeks he hadn't had to think about real-life life and death decisions and actions.

Had the Bus only passed down the road and not turned into the driveway he probably would have never noticed it. The movement of the Bus approaching below the windows on his right side did catch his attention though.

 _"Oh, surely they aren't done yet?"_

He paused the game, stood and stretched, then walked over to the nearest window.

He was mildly surprised when three young men stepped out instead of six beautiful young women.

He raced over to the door that led to the outdoor stairway and went down to greet his newly arrived guests.

"Hey, guys!"

Gin, Haiji, and Fong-Fong turned to greet him.

"Yo, Tsukune!" Hajij declared with a nonchalant head nod.

"Tsukune-sama, greetings." Called out Fong-Fong with an appropriate bow.

"What's up, runt?" Gin said with a rather odd but also reassuringly disinterested expression.

Once Tsukune was out of shouting distance with them he spoke again.

"So, what brings you guys here?"

Gin rolled his eyes at this pro-forma statement and looked over where Bus Driver was smoking beside the door to the Bus.

"Isn't it obvious what brought us here?"

He tilted his head back at the Bus and Bus Driver touched the brim of his cap in salute.

"Don't be more of an ass than you usually are."

Haiji's words seemed to wash over Gin like water off the back of a duck.

"Anyway, we came to see if you guys wanted to come to the Seaside Motel with us."

Tsukune's eyes widened at this unexpected invite as Fong-Fong elaborated on the idea.

"There is a week of Summer Break left. We thought we should make the most of the time we have left."

Tsukune honestly would love to spend some time by the sea actually relaxing, not to mention getting to see the girls all in their swimsuits again.

Then he remembered that the last time he had been there was with…..her.

The light that had been on his face moments before was suddenly gone.

"Oh, well, thanks for the offer but….."

He scratched at the back of his head before turning them down with a weak smile and a perfectly true if unsatisfying answer.

"….we're kind of just settling in here and finding our feet under us, you know."

Gin, who hadn't seemed to be in a good mood when he had asked, seemed even less pleased with this answer.

"Right, so that's a no. Let's go guys."

Arms crossed over his chest, he turned and walked back toward the Bus.

"Hey, wait up Gin. Wouldn't you like to check this place out first? We didn't even know it was even back here before now."

Haiji's suggestion didn't even make Gin turn around to reply. He answered in an irritated tone over his shoulder as he continued to walk away.

"It's a house. You've seen one you've seen them all."

He suddenly seemed to sense he was being a bit too rude and stopped to turn and speak directly to the home's new occupant.

"No offense Tsukune, but I assume it will still be here when the semester starts so we come over to look then, right?"

Tsukune was eager to dispel the dour situation brewing here whose origins he didn't understand.

"Um, right. Please give Marin-san and San-san our apologies."

"Sure thing, let's go."

Haiji let out an exasperated sigh and turned to follow Gin, but Tsukune's hushed next question stopped him.

"Something wrong with Gin?"

An awkward expression crossed Haiji's face before he scratched at the back of his head with an almost disgusted look on his face.

"Um, he's just eager to get back there."

Tsukune's eyes widened slightly but then a small grin creased his mouth.

"San?"

Haiji absently nodded confirmation as he spoke.

"Yeah, among other reasons."

Again Tsukune was put on guard by this strange response.

"Other reasons?"

Haiji seemed to suddenly realize he was adding more info absentmindedly to this conversation than he actually wanted to. He quickly tried to dispel Tsukune's obvious mounting concerns.

"Um….don't worry about it. It's nothing."

"Did the visit to his family go bad?"

Haiji laughed with a genuine smile on his face now.

"For me? Not at all!"

Tsukune's unamused expression let Haiji know he wasn't finding the deflection techniques charming in the least. Haiji sighed in frustration again before speaking once more.

"He hadn't said much about it though, but you know Gin."

Tsukune's eyes flicked upward to where Gin sat on the Bus in seeming irritation at this further delay.

"Yeah."

A moment later Tsukune's attention turned to the other person standing near them.

"Your folks alright Fong-Fong?"

"Yes, thanks for asking. My parents send their greetings."

This gave Haiji the break he needed to move off and a few moments later he was also back on the Bus.

"Give them my best wishes next time you see them."

Fong-Fong nodded and moved to join the other two on the Bus, but as he passed Tsukune a whisper reached his ears.

"Do you know what's up with Gin?"

He turned to look at Tsukune again, but a moment later he sadly shook his head back at him.

"They picked me up at the front of the school just minutes ago. Seems Gin wants us to go do some manual labor there, at the Seaside Motel, helping them get the place ready for the offseason."

Tsukune nodded thoughtfully before giving a one-word reply.

"Oh….."

Fong-Fong slipped in a few more words before he departed.

"Truth is, he seems off to me too, but I couldn't tell you why."

"Okay then, must not be any of our business then, thanks."

Tsukune nodded to him and Fong-Fong boarded the Bus.

Bus Driver shifted his cigar as he watched the freshman board and moved to follow, but stopped when he saw Tsukune directing a curious gaze his way as well. Bus Driver lightly shrugged to indicate he also didn't know what was bothering the young werewolf, then retook his seat behind the steering wheel.

"You guys have a good time."

Haiji and Fong-Fong smiled back and waved but Gin never looked back as the Bus reversed out of the driveway.

Tsukune stayed and watched it head back in the direction it came back toward the Teachers' Village and eventually the Seaside Motel in the human world.

 _"It would have been nice, and I don't mind helping Marin and San."_

It wasn't a decision he'd take to do on his own anymore though. With the girls still out shopping, he definitely didn't feel like he could speak for them in this matter, and he doubted they would appreciate him leaving early without them either.

 _"She….wouldn't appreciate it."_

He'd, of course, tell them when they got home.

 _"Maybe they'll want to go?"_

As he took the steps back up on the side of the garage that led to the game room door, he realized he actually didn't want to go himself though.

 _"I'm…not ready."_

The memory of deep green eyes and flowing pink hair streaming in the sea breeze filled his memory then.

To divert his mind from that he found another reason not to go.

Gin clearly needed some space too.

* * *

"Interesting."

Ruby and Kurumu had managed to get Moka and Mizore to take Yukari and Kokoa to the other side of the supermarket so that they could divide and conquer their shopping list, and thus save time.

Ruby directed a curious gaze at Kurumu, who seemed to be staring off past the rear of the store and into the great beyond.

"What's interesting?"

Kurumu sniffed as if she had just been awoken from a dream, then answered her companion in mild irritation.

"Pervert, Blockhead, and Shota showed up at the house."

Ruby didn't seem too surprised by this news. It was expected that they of all people on campus would be most likely to know about their recent change of residence, despite Kurumu's obvious annoyance over it.

"Oh, will they still be there when we're done?"

"….no. They just left."

Kurumu sounded strangely distant and perplexed for some reason by this. Ruby responded in a light tone to try to offset the building heavy mood.

"Short visit. Tsukune-kun didn't even show them the house?"

Kurumu shook her head still apparently mildly distracted by all this.

"He offered, but Gin turned him down. They came to ask if we wanted to go to the Seaside Motel with them."

This was slightly more surprising for Ruby as her eyes widened a bit now.

"Oh, and Tsukune-kun turned them down?"

The truth was there were pluses and minuses to quickly taking a vacation at this point, so letting Tsukune make the call he was comfortable with suited Ruby just fine, she'd be ready to stay or go whatever he wanted to do. His needs, emotional and physical, had priority for her.

"Yeah, but that's not the interesting part."

Now Ruby's curiosity ticked up a few notches more. She could see the perplexed look still on her friend's face.

"Oh? What is?"

Kurumu tilted her head as if she were pondering the right way to phrase her answer.

"Tsukune sensed that Gin was…'off', somehow."

Now Ruby really was interested in this topic.

" 'Off'? What exactly does that mean?"

Kurumu shrugged vaguely as she continued to walk beside Ruby, who was pushing their nearly overflowing cart in front of her.

"I don't know, just...'off', somehow."

Seeing the less than satisfied expression on Ruby's face, Kurumu let out a heavy sigh and then gave a more succinct answer to her.

"Nothing sinister, just in a very foul mood, even for him. More foul than someone going to see the girl he's in love with should be in."

They shared a look of mutual understanding then, Kurumu seemingly now fully out of her previously "hazy" train of thought and back where she actually was now.

"Oh."

Ruby answered as she thought on it, only coming out of her own thoughts as Kurumu tossed an item on the huge pile Ruby was wheeling around and marked off another item from her list. Ruby let her inner thoughts out at that moment.

"Right….he did just visit his family though."

Now it was Kurumu's turn to be interested in the topic.

"He has a bad relationship with his family? Not surprising considering how he acts."

Ruby suddenly realized her mistake and plastered a smile on her face as she shook her head a bit too emphatically back at the succubus.

"Not that I am aware of, but you saw how….um…."

Kurumu smirked at her before finishing her statement for her.

"…..domineering his sister was?"

Ruby shrugged back with a shy expression now.

"Lycan…..werewolves that is….."

"I do know what lycan are."

Kurumu's slightly irritated look at her made Ruby blush with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. Well, they have…..complicated family relationships."

Now Kurumu laughed as she covered her mouth to giggle into her hand.

"Oh please! I'm sure it's nothing like the mess that a succubi family is."

Ruby was actually glad Kurumu had gone down the comparison route because that let her deflect from talking more about what she knew about werewolf relationships in general and Gin's personal situation in particular.

"Oh….I'm sure of that too. It's an entirely different type of mess altogether."

Ruby realized her next mistake instantly as well as Kurumu's attention noticeably picked up at that statement.

"Really? Do tell."

Ruby's mouth was wide open as she realized she had fallen into a trap, but then she calmed and shook her head, knowing she had only one honorable path forward.

"Um…..no, sorry."

Kurumu genuinely seemed shocked that Ruby would outright refuse her. Not that she wouldn't tell her at all, because that wasn't so odd, only that she had been so direct about saying so. It was rather unlike the usually overly polite Ruby she had come to know.

Her response reflected her surprise at this flat refusal.

"No? Just like that?"

Her obvious amazement made Ruby suddenly giggle before responding.

"Sorry, but yes, just like that. I don't go around broadcasting what I know about lycan, or succubi, or anyone else. Everyone has a right to a certain level of privacy."

This only made Kurumu smile back viciously at her.

"Now I am really intrigued."

Ruby smiled back but shook her head at her once again.

"Then feel free to ask Gin all about it."

Kurumu's disgusted expression at the thought of having a personal conversation with someone she still regularly called "The Pervert" or "Pervdog" sent Ruby into a fit of laughter.

Kurumu grinned and smirked back at her again.

"You're a tease. Did you realize that?"

Now they both laughed out loud together.

Ruby was glad that both Tsukune and Kurumu could take this little break from their mutual troubles.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. If Tsukune-kun was a normal man he'd only love each of us at twenty percent his capacity, but because he's a shinso he's able to love all of us each at a hundred percent? So he has five-hundred percent love to give?"

Kurumu huffed in frustration.

"NO! Why do you keep trying to turn his love for us into some math equation? You suck at math."

Mizore, lying beside her in the bed they now shared on Kurumu's right side, sent her a questioning look before replying to her irritated companion.

"I'm just trying to wrap my head around how he can love each of us as much as he can love just one of us alone, but each of us gets a full share of his love and not a partial share, which really isn't full love at all."

"ERRRRR…..he just does! Why on the Goddess's green Earth would I make this shit up?"

From her perplexed expression, Mizore clearly didn't understand how her questions had put Kurumu into such a foul mood.

"I'm not saying you're wrong or making anything up, but if this is going to work out for all of us then we all have to understand the boundaries of it, right? Not just you."

Kurumu sent her a snide looking expression as she rolled her eyes and twisted her lips into a sneer. Then Mizore jabbed back at her verbally in her usual deadpan way.

"And you suck at math too, by the way."

For some reason, this seemed to lighten the mood and Kurumu even broke into a half-smile before retorting.

"…admittedly, but you don't see me trying to arithmetic this out like something as complicated as love can be described with numbers and symbols."

Mizore thought about that for a moment, before asking her next question.

"Then how would you describe it?"

"Uh….I….I don't…"

Just as Mizore suspected, either Kurumu herself didn't have an answer to that particular mystery or lacked the ability to express something so "complicated" with her limited vocabulary.

Suddenly in the wall beside the nightstand next to Kurumu, another magical portal appeared like the one earlier today. There was no knock on the wall this time. This time it was tall enough for Ruby to walk through upright, having obviously been her creation.

Yukari followed through behind her, with her wand at the ready. This time their roles were apparently reversed from earlier in the day, with it being the younger witch's job to apply the sound barrier. A flick of her wand made the lock bolt and the wall glow for a second.

Now safely sonically sequestered from the other occupants of the house, Ruby and Yukari turned and smiled brightly down at the other two.

"Sorry to disturb you again, but I think we might have a potential solution to your immediate problem."

Both were in their night clothes like Kurumu and Mizore, Ruby wearing a house robe over her nighty but Yukari apparently just fine in T-shirt and panties. The younger witch boiled over in obvious excitement.

"It's true! It's true!"

"Is he asleep now?"

For a split second Kurumu didn't seem to know what Ruby was asking her for, but sudden clarity crossed her features as she replied.

"Yeah, he hasn't entered REM sleep yet though."

Ruby had a thoughtful expression on her face as she pondered this before asking her next question.

"Should we wait for him to do so?"

Kurumu shrugged after sighing with a rather tired look on her face.

"Depends, what do you need me to do?"

Ruby answered her succinctly.

"We need to enter your mind via your mindwalking abilities."

Kurumu's sudden downcast expression indicated that she didn't like that answer very much.

"Mindwalking? Yeah…..I don't know about that…"

Her apprehension about mindwalking, especially in her current condition, was apparent for them all to see. Ruby decided that explaining some more about what they needed to do might put the succubus at some ease.

"There seem to be two potential methods to do this. The traditional one doesn't require mindwalking, but it could take up to three days to complete."

"THREE DAYS?"

Kurumu's expression matched her stunned words. Mizore answered for her dumbfounded friend with what they all thought about that option.

"I think we can rule that one out."

Ruby nodded her agreement before giving them the second option.

"The other only works with species whose telepathy allows mindwalking, and seems to be significantly quicker and take less effort."

Yukari directed a surprised-sounding question at her witch-senpei now.

"There are other species that have mindwalking abilities?"

Ruby nodded with a brief glance and word for her fellow witch.

"A few."

Kurumu sighed heavily again before asking Ruby for more on the procedure.

"Let me ask, once you're in my mind, how much effort from me to complete this will be required?"

Ruby again looked like she was in deep thought about this latest question but had an answer she looked rather confident in less than ten seconds later.

"Once we start, it will be me doing most of the work. You should be able to focus on maintaining your current mental posture with Tsukune for the entire time."

Kurumu seemed mildly relieved to hear this, but then she and Mizore tensed as Ruby turned to the yukionna with a sly expression on her lovely if tired looking features.

"Assuming Mizore will join me as an assistant?"

"….me?"

"HER?"

Mizore and Kurumu both expressed their mutual surprise at Ruby's request for her help. Kurumu clearly didn't want Mizore, frankly, anyone, poking around in her mind, having done so with Tsukune in Moka's mind, and particularly not having liked the results of that mindwalking experience.

"I'll need some help as I do the incantations, and since Yukari will be able to maintain the barrier for us….."

True enough, Mizore couldn't maintain a magic sound barrier. Mizore shrugged as she replied after Ruby's further explanation trailed off for her to do so

"….I guess I will."

Then she looked smugly in Kurumu's direction and sent a verbal shuriken flying at the succubus.

"How deranged can it possibly be in there?"

Kurumu sneered back angrily at the young lady sitting beside her on the bed.

"What do you mean? Like you can talk about deviant minds!"

Instead of being insulted, Mizore took this as a compliment.

"Some might say I'm an expert on deviant thoughts."

This caused Kurumu's eyes to roll yet again in exasperation, and sent Yukari into a fit of amused laughter.

"HEHE! It's TRUE! It's True!"

Once the gaiety died down, Kurumu asked what was weighing next on her mind.

"So…"

She let the start of her question linger long enough to draw everyone else's attention to her again before finishing it.

"What exactly is this 'solution'?"

Ruby nodded, then opened her magic book as she replied, looking down at the pages. She seemed to be reading to them from it now.

"It's a special type of magical seal, specifically designed to restrict telepathic thoughts between two specific people."

Mizore sent her a suspicious look before asking a question of her own.

"I thought you said earlier that your book didn't have anything on that?"

Earlier that day, after Kurumu explained to them about her bond with Tsukune, and Ruby revealed her thoughts about their mutual situation in this house and with Tsukune, Ruby had turned her attention to finding a solution to help Kurumu, at least temporarily, better manage and mask her telepathic bond from the man in question.

At that time, Ruby said there was nothing in her book on it and that she would have to investigate further. Neither Mizore nor Kurumu seemed to have expected a solution from the witches that very evening, but they all now understood the strain on Kurumu to maintain her deception from Tsukune had upper Ruby's sense of urgency.

Still, that it was now in Ruby's book, seemed to draw at least Mizore's curious attention. Ruby answering with an awkward look only heightened the yukionna's curiosity further.

"It didn't, so we went to Oyakata-sama's library to see if she had anything on it."

Now Kurumu was also invested in this conversation turn.

"Oyakata-san's…..library? At her place?"

With another awkward expression, Ruby shyly answered her.

"Technically…..the house and the sunflower field are mine now, as her heir."

Now their eyes went wide in surprise at this revelation before Mizore spoke up again.

"So, you own that house now?"

Simultaneously Kurumu blurted out another related question.

"When did you leave to go there?"

"Um…yes, and right after dinner."

Ruby's embarrassed answer made Kurumu ask another perplexed-sounding question.

"Wait…..what? You were in the onsen with us less than an hour later. Even Bus Driver can't get you there and back that fast."

Kurumu and Mizore, in their unique styles, now probed the recalcitrant looking Ruby with deep curiosity and suspicion eyes, but before she could formulate her own answer for them, Yukari, beside her, blurted out an answer for her.

"We used a dimensional portal, DUH!"

Ruby sent her younger friend an incredulous look as if Yukari had just told them the combination to her safe, but this answer surprisingly seemed to mollify their companions for at least the moment.

"Oh, yeah, how does that work?"

Ruby was about to give Mizore the minimum information answer to that question possible when Yukari once again opened the metaphorical magical "curtain" wide and invited them happily into the full-on answer beyond.

"Once you go to a place the normal way, you can later go back there through a dimensional portal. If you can see it in your mind from your own memories, then the portal you form can then take you there. Easy peasy!"

Ruby had to resist the urge to whack Yukari in the back of the head as Kurumu asked the next question.

"You mean we can go back to the beach whenever we want?"

Suddenly Yukari's own thoughts seemed to open as wide as her now bulging eyes as the reality she clearly hadn't remembered before now smacked her across her face.

"WOW! I didn't think about it, but you're right! We have this house, AND A BEACH HOUSE TOO!"

Before these two could let their minds wander too far onto sunning themselves daily on the beach at Oyakata's place, Mizore, herself no fan of heat or sun, redirected the topic back on track, much to Ruby's relief.

"And you found this spell there?"

Ruby shook her head as she replied.

"Actually…..no. So we came back and checked the books in the office here for anything."

Before either girl on the bed could ask another question Yukari continued Ruby's statement for her.

"We didn't get an answer here either, but we did in the Chairman's office at the Academy!"

Mizore again stared at the book in Ruby's hand with curious suspicion.

"And then you recorded it in your book?"

"Well actually….."

Ruby quickly cut Yukari off before she could finish her obviously way too informative answer.

"Yes, and now we're ready."

Ruby's brusk answer and a slightly perturbed glance in her direction finally seemed to let Yukari realize she had said too much already and she seemed recalcitrant under Ruby's glare. After a brief smirk, Ruby then quickly looked back at Kurumu with sympathy showing on her face now.

"If you are, Kurumu-chan?"

Kurumu sighed again and shrugged as she reluctantly answered.

"…I just hope this works."

Ruby took this as an affirmative answer and gave a brief nod to the younger witch, who already seemed to know it was her job to manage the sound barrier between them and the female vampires who should be asleep in their room on this same floor.

Kurumu also knew what she had to do and suddenly her tail with the heart shaped end appeared snaking out from behind her.

Ruby suddenly seemed uncomfortable as she began to ask an obviously awkward question for her.

"Where should we…"

Kurumu understood instantly what was causing Ruby discomfort and cut her off with the answer.

"It's probably best if we all lay down side by side."

She immediately did so right in the middle of the bed with the tail coming out from behind her to lay on her belly. Mizore slid down on Kurumu's right and Ruby, somewhat awkwardly, sat beside Kurumu on her left, and then laid down as well.

Mizore and Ruby then put their hands on either side of Kurumu's heart-shaped tail end, both now facing each other across Kurumu's midsection.

"OH MY! How kinky! Tehe!"

Yukari's amusement in their somewhat intimate positions drew looks of irritation from all three women on the bed, none more prevalent then the "go to hell" look Kurumu sent her. Of course, this only made her giggle more.

Once they had settled back in, Mizore sent Ruby an odd look before speaking.

"So, what happens….."


	16. Slowly Onward Part IV

"…..next?...WHOA!"

Mizore wasn't normally very expressive, but even she was surprised to be facing Ruby now, but no longer on the bed. Her trademark lollipop even looked like it was about to fall from her now wide open mouth.

They were now standing upright facing each other, Kurumu having seemingly disappeared from her earlier place between them. Around them was a great field of wildflowers moving rather violently in the stiff breeze and surrounding them were high mountains on all sides.

Had the sun been out it would have been quite beautiful, but ominous purple clouds roiled close overhead of them with the occasional lightning bolt flashing.

Once she was over her initial shock at seemingly having teleported to a new place, Mizore began to ask an excited-sounding question.

"Is this…"

"Kurumu-chan's mind? It must be."

Only then did they realize they had still been holding each other's hands as if Kurumu's tail was still there too. In the "real world" outside Kurumu's mind they indeed still both had a hold of her tail, but here they quickly released their grips with somewhat awkward faces.

They slowly began to examine the turbulent sky that dominated this Kurumu created world around them with wonder and fascination.

A moment later Mizore had formulated a snide comment to go along with the visuals all around them.

"I was wrong, clearly her mind is more deviant than I had thought."

"Well, what did you expect with what I'm going through?"

Both turned in shock at the sudden sound of Kurumu's voice booming at them with irritation from behind them.

"Rainbows and unicorns?"

Like them, she stood there in her usual preferred clothing, Yokai Academy skirt, sweater vest, and bow with her white kogal socks loose around her calves and shins.

Ruby and Mizore didn't notice what she wore though, their eyes were transfixed by the massive ring of light flowing into Kurumu's mind on the left and coming out as a much thinner ring from the right of her head. Her right arm was lifted up so that her right hand could firmly grasp the thinner light ring coming out from her head.

"What…..is that?"

Mizore's stunned-sounding question was for both of them.

Kurumu furrowed her brows in mild confusion before sudden realization bloomed on her face.

"Oh, yeah, this thing."

She then frowned rather sadly and nodded her head in the direction past them.

They turned to see the origin of the greater side of the ring of light and the destination of the smaller end of the light ring merge in the form of a sleeping figure about fifty meters distant from them.

"TSUKUNE?"

Mizore made to move toward the hazy looking almost ghostlike image of their mutual love interest only to have Ruby quickly stop her by grasping her upper arm.

"Yes, but if you don't mind not shouting?"

They both looked back at the irritated Kurumu, who added on further explanation in a sarcastic tone.

"We don't want him to wake during this, do we?"

They both were stunned again by this news, with Ruby speaking up this time.

"He can…..hear us?"

Kurumu sighed in frustration before answering her.

"No, not exactly, but if you scream at the bottom of a well shaft someone might hear your muffled cries. It's the same kind of thing."

Ruby had a curious but concerned expression as she redirected her gaze back toward Tsukune's ethereal-looking image.

"Kurumu-chan, is this…."

She hesitated for a moment but visibly resettled herself to finish her question.

"….a representation of your mental link with Tsukune?"

She used her hand to indicate Tsukune and the greater and lesser light rings halves that traveled between him and Kurumu as she asked her question.

The succubus initially looked up at the rings with doubt, but a moment later she answered Ruby in a slightly sad tone.

"Yeah, I guess this is kind of how I think about it or at least the way my brain translates it into something all three of us can understand at the same time."

Mizore then pointed to where Kurumu's right hand, under some obvious white-knuckled strain, seemed to be holding the thinner light ring emanating from the right side of her head.

"Why are you pinching off that end?"

Kurumu twisted her lips at the yukionna she now shared a room with and rolled her eyes as she sarcastically responded.

"Well duh! Obviously, this is the info that goes from my mind to my Tsukune-kun's."

Seeing Mizore's palpable confusion she reluctantly began to elaborate further.

"If I weren't pinching it off…"

"Then Tsukune-kun would be a full partner in your mental bond, and know everything."

Initially surprised by Ruby's answer, Kurumu eventually nodded back the confirmation of her accuracy.

"….right. So I have to pinch it off like this, or else he'd know."

Mizore's eyes then took on another curious glint.

"Why not pinch it off entirely?"

Kurumu's sarcastic response indicated she thought this question also was very stupid.

"Because we'd both DIE!"

Unperturbed by the succubus, Mizore again delivered a deadpan response.

"Oh, I suppose that's a good reason, at least for my Tsukune-kun's sake."

Before Kurumu could reply with vitriol, Ruby asked another question as she carefully examined the thinner light band.

"So this is the bare minimum you must share with him to keep both of you alive?"

"Um…yeah. A bit more than just that, but enough where he doesn't usually feel anything from me."

Ruby then made a sympatric sounding observation of her own.

"And it's obviously difficult to maintain."

"VERY!"

Turning back thoughtfully to examine the thinner light beam again, Ruby brought forth her thoughts for the other two to hear.

"I….have an idea."

She turned to face Mizore with a serious expression then.

"Mizore-chan, I want you to grab the… 'mental flow', from Kurumu-chan to Tsukune-kun, over there."

Seeing the general area where Ruby was indicating, Mizore wordlessly went about ten meters away along the thinner light ring and reached up to take it in both of her hands. She winced for a moment when she first came into contact with it, but then seemed to not mind the sensation after a brief moment of adjustment.

Seeing this, Ruby continued.

"Be ready to hold it for Kurumu-chan, I'm going to get her to slowly let go so you'll have to hold the flow for her."

At this point Kurumu began to express her doubts over this particular experiment.

"I'm not sure this is…"

Ruby, very seriously, turned to explain why she was doing this.

"If this works, it may make me putting the seal on a whole lot easier and quicker for all of us."

Kurumu, after a rather tense moment of doubt, nodded as she replied.

"…..okay."

Never missing a beat, Ruby again turned in Mizore's direction.

"You ready, Mizore-chan?"

Her hands now raised to head height, where the band stretched from Kurumu off to Tsukune in the distance, a very unsure looking yukionna half shrugged and half nodded as she replied, perfectly match her feelings and words at that moment.

"I….guess so."

Ruby turned again to Kurumu and after a deep breath told her to begin.

"Alright, let it go, slowly."

Kurumu's eyes darted nervously to Mizore, who nodded reassuringly at her, and then back to Ruby who did the same. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and held it for what seemed like forever, and as she let it escape through her nostrils, she also loosened the grip around her connection to Tsukune.

The look of relief that washed over Kurumu at that moment meant that Ruby didn't need to ask how she was. Had the two beams entering and exiting her head on either side not seemingly held her upright and in place, Ruby was certain she would have fallen to the ground beneath her and passed out right then and there.

Seeing so, she immediately turned her attention to the one taking on Kurumu's previous burden.

"You good, Mizore-chan?"

The yukionna was biting her lower lip before finding her words to respond. Holding the beam of light alone now clearly was putting a strain on her.

"Um, yeah, I think so."

"Oh wow!"

Ruby turned and smiled as Kurumu's delighted voice reached her ears.

"Better?"

Kurumu nodded with the smile now on her face infectious to behold.

"Oh my goodness. What a relief."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief herself now.

"Good."

She hadn't been entirely sure this part would work. It hadn't been part of her original plan but bringing Kurumu some temporary relief now should make putting the seal on easier. She had come up with the theory that Mizore could constrict the beam for Kurumu only after seeing the representation of the bond herself, and knew that the yukionna only had a little time left before she'd weaken too.

"Mizore-chan, how are you?"

Mizore didn't look comfortable at all, arms stretched up to hold the light beam firmly, but she did look more stable now.

"Okay, I guess, but wow, this sucks."

"RIGHT! Tell me about it!"

Mizore only nodded agreement in response to Kurumu's emphatic proclamation, but Ruby was already ready to get down to her own business here.

"How long do you think you can hold it?"

Mizore winced at Ruby's question as if it too were painful for her, and shrugged again as she spoke.

"Hard to say, I'm good for the moment."

She turned back to Kurumu with another serious expression now.

"You'll have to be ready to take over again if Mizore-chan begins to falter."

"Well, obviously."

Kurumu was paying attention, even if she had yet to stop enjoying the relief that not holding the light beam had brought her.

"If you think you're beginning to lose it Mizore-chan, don't hesitate to tell Kurumu-chan so."

Mizore almost laughed as she responded.

"I won't, believe me."

Ruby then imparted important information to them both.

"I can do it with either of you holding it, but if it increases in flow at all I'm not sure the seal will take."

Both now were paying her very close attention.

"It would be best if the two of you could not break my train of thought as I incant the seal into being. Of course, unforeseen circumstances could….."

"We got this Ruby!"

Kurumu smiled and nodded towards her.

"Yeah, go for it, we're ready!"

Mizore also nodded.

Ruby smiled now and approached the light beam again before calling out to them in a confident tone.

"Alright then, here we go."

She took a deep breath and as she exhaled, to the other two's mutual shock, Ruby stepped into the beam of light.

Now the light beam entered the back of her head and flowed out towards Mizore and Tsukune through her forehead.

Both held their breath as they waited to see if Ruby would open her eyes and start breathing again.

One strong movement of her torso up and down with exhalation and her eyes began to open to their great relief. A second later, her staff appeared in her right hand, the purple orb beginning to glow instantly. The magic spell book also appeared in her left hand. Her eyes gently fell on the page, and a moment later her lips began to move. Neither understood the words they heard coming from Ruby's mouth, but both knew it had to be a magic incantation. Ruby's eyes seemed glazed over suddenly to Mizore and even from behind her Kurumu could sense that Ruby was in a trance-like state now. Strange and exotic sounding words fell almost imperceptibly from her mouth now.

Then Kurumu saw Mizore wince again.

"Are you alright?"

Mizore nodded with the tip of her tongue protruding between her lips in obvious concentration.

"Yeah….this just….."

"Sucks."

They both exchanged glances of understanding, then Mizore nodded back.

A few moments later Ruby's chanting seemed to increase slightly along with the intensity of the glowing purple orb at the end of her staff.

"You know….."

Mizore said a few moments later.

"…..she didn't say how long THIS method would take."

Kurumu could see the concern on her friend's face. She understood it well, having held that pinched-out light beam in her mind for more than a couple of days now herself.

 _"But she can't feel what's in the beam."_

Knowing the thoughts, emotions, memories, and everything else she wanted to share with Tsukune that threatened to burst from the thin beam of light into a beam the size of the one she was receiving back from him gave her a significant advantage in being able to control its flow.

An advantage that Mizore didn't have.

 _"Let's hope it doesn't take too long."_

For Mizore she had words of reassurance she didn't exactly feel herself though.

"Just let me know. I'm ready to take back over when you need me to."

In her secret heart Kurumu, now having felt the relief of passing that heavy burden to another, wasn't sure she could go back to holding it again. It would be like asking a marathon runner to run another marathon after the first race was over and they had sat for a while.

In the innermost chamber of her secret heart, Kurumu knew she really didn't want to keep any of this from her Tsukune-kun. No, secretly, she wanted to open the bond fully and be one with him forever, damn the "external" consequences.

Mizore, though putting obvious effort into both her handholds, could see Kurumu was in no condition to take over again yet.

She tightened her grip on the semi-electric feeling field going through her palms, and smirked back deviously at her friend, knowing just how to motivate her as well.

"Please, this is a breeze, go take a nap."

At this bravado, Kurumu could only smirk back as she playfully replied.

"Sure thing, Ice Queen. Don't slip."

Mizore smirked even more now.

"As if I'd ever."

Ruby chose that moment to take the chanting up to a new notch. She wasn't exactly shouting, but if Kurumu had been concerned that Mizore would wake Tsukune before now…..

Both turned concerned looks down the light stream. Sure enough, the ghostly image of Tsukune was writhing as if in discomfort.

Turning back to see Kurumu's reaction to this, Mizore was shocked to see her reaching up to grab the beam.

"I told you I can do this!"

Kurumu seemed to ignore her words as she took hold of the beam but then responded calmly.

"You can constrict the flow, but only I can communicate through it."

She closed her eyes in concentration. Seeing this Mizore turned back to see Tsukune's reaction. At first, nothing changed, but then slowly he began to calm.

"You see now…."

She turned back to see Kurumu smirking victoriously back at her.

"…the effect that his REAL wife has on calming his heart?"

The look on Kurumu's face clearly indicated she knew her claim to be his "real" wife was a well-aimed dagger indeed.

Both impressed and unwilling to concede anything to her friend and rival, especially where her Tsukune-kun was concerned, Mizore was ready with a quick retort.

"Please, as if he would…"

Ruby's chanting then suddenly reached a new level of ferocity, but this time it came with equally sudden pressure inside Mizore's hands.

The beam was trying to expand!

"MIZORE!"

Kurumu could see her sudden struggle as she fought to maintain her grip on the beam.

Kurumu's hands reached up on reflex, both of them now taking the beam.

Then panic hit her heart.

It had indeed expanded.

Worried eyes looked down at the far distance to see Tsukune's eyes begin to flutter, begin to open.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!"

Mizore could barely hear Kurumu's frantic pleas over Ruby's constant drumbeat-like chanting, but she knew, even as she struggled to regain her grip, to turn her eyes down the length of the light beam.

The image of Tsukune was becoming clearer, emerging from the haze-like fog around him.

And his eyes…..they were beginning to open.

"Damn."

She squeezed even harder but knew she wasn't fighting alone now. She cut her eyes back to where Kurumu now fought along with her to contain the flow from her mind.

This time she didn't protest. She knew it would take both their strength to contain it now.

"Damn it, Ruby! I hope all this shouting means you're almost done!"

She couldn't be sure if her words even reached Ruby's ears over the cacophony of her own chanted words, but as if suddenly shot by a bullet Ruby dropped down like a sack of rice and crumpled to the ground below.

"RUBY!"

Kurumu's shout of surprise and terror both matched Mizore's desperate desire to let go and rush to Ruby's aide, but something deep inside told her and apparently also told Kurumu as well that now was not the time to let go.

Both squeezed now with all their might on the beam of light threatening to reveal and unravel all.

Suddenly grey whisps of smoke seemed to emanate purposefully up from Ruby's body as she writhed slowly on the ground in her still semi-catatonic state.

The grey wisps began to swirl about the axis of the light beam where a moment before Ruby's head had been. As they swirled they accelerated and solidified. Mizore could see solid stone forming in a great circle in the air before her eyes. Strange and great magic formed intricately carved stone in midair, hovering before her, the patterns almost captivating in their complexity and beauty.

Then the last of the smoke bonded with the stone circle, and to her amazement, the strain of the expanding light beam was suddenly gone.

"Let go."

"Ruby!"

From her place on the ground nearby Ruby weakly proper herself up on one elbow, a hazy film still covering her eyes.

"It's okay now."

She reassured her friend.

Mizore took a deep breath, then with some courage needed, she removed her hands from the beam.

It didn't try to expand at all. She could see that it now passed through a tiny opening dead center in the now meter wide rotating stone shield that she could only assume was Ruby's completed seal.

"It…worked?"

Ruby weakly nodded back to her with a vague smile.

"Seems like it did."

Only then did Mizore allow herself to believe enough to abandon her post and rush to Ruby's side.

"Are you….."

"I'm fine."

A thin trickle of blood escaping from her nose gave proof of her lie.

"…..Ruby."

She hadn't forgotten that just days before Ruby had nearly sacrificed her life when using the Iron Maiden Spell. It had taken Moka most of the night giving her blood infusions to bring Ruby out of danger, but her body was still weakened from the ordeal.

Had Kurumu or she known what creating this seal would demand from Ruby, it wouldn't have been done tonight or anytime soon, no matter how desperate Kurumu's situation was getting.

Ruby ignored Mizore's concerns for her though and reminded her why they were both here.

"Kurumu?"

She turned to look behind her where Kurumu still had a doublehanded death grip on the light beam, Mizore's eyes also following.

The succubus still had a two-hand death grip on the light beam.

"It's okay now Kurumu-chan."

Kurumu's eyes opened at Ruby's words and she looked back with obvious relief that Ruby at least seemed okay now.

"You can let go now."

Kurumu didn't seem to believe her. After a few moments looking at each other her eyes focused downfield where once again the image of Tsukune was hazy and he seemingly calmly asleep once more.

Still, she had grave doubts.

"Are you certain? Are you sure it's not me that's….."

"Yes, I am certain."

Now on her feet again with Mizore's assistance, Ruby's confident smile finally seemed to give Kurumu the will to believe.

"Let go."

She did so, very slowly. She was pleasantly rewarded when the beam in her hand also didn't expand with her opening hands.

Mizore helped Ruby approach Kurumu now, her staff wand, which had disappeared when she sank to the ground, reappeared, this time to be used by Ruby as a crutch.

Concern once more instantly bubbled up on Kurumu's face.

"Ruby-chan! Are you really al….."

"Yes, I'll be fine."

Ruby's bravado didn't seem to placate Kurumu at all. The glance she shared with Mizore then radiated their mutual concern for their friend.

"Kurumu-chan."

Ruby's mildly teasing voice brought their attention back to her suddenly.

"Didn't I just say you can let go?"

They both looked at her in mild confusion.

"But…..I….."

"I mean it."

Despite her disheveled appearance and weakened voice, Ruby's words contained confidence from which neither of her companions could derive the source for.

"You can really let go. Put the burden entirely on the seal."

Kurumu seemed to finally understand Ruby's meaning, to her obvious concern.

"But…..are you….."

"YES."

Ruby's confidence seemed to overcome the succubus's lingering doubts. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then….she let go, for real this time.

Mizore's eyes widened at the beam of light from Kurumu's mind on the right side expanded in strength and intensity to match the one coming from Tsukune to her.

Then all their eyes turned at the sudden rumbling sound as the full, true force of the connection Kurumu shared with Tsukune slammed into the rotating stone seal.

It visibly shuddered under the relentless onslaught.

They held their breath, even Ruby, as the beam seemed to try to overcome the seal and the seal shook in the air as it tried to contain the beam.

Then there was sudden silence, and they could all see the seal had won, only the part of the beam that Kurumu had originally been holding passed through the tiny opening at the center of the seal. The rest of the beam being stopped and absorbed by the seal itself.

They sighed in relief, and Ruby exchanged relieved looks with Mizore. Then they turned toward Kurumu.

Both were stunned at first to see that she had passed out, seemingly suspended in the air by the two beams connected to her head like a vice grip, her feet, and legs dangling lifelessly under her.

"Is she…."

Then Ruby suddenly began to laugh. Confused, Mizore sent her a perplexed expression. Ruby contained her amusement just enough to explain its source to her concerned friend.

"She's asleep."

Mizore's mouth, interestingly enough holding a cooling popsicle even here in Kurumu's mindscape, opened wide in understanding as Ruby explained further.

"Holding all this in for the past few days had been such a great burden for her that finally releasing it…"

"Right."

Mizore nodded her understanding, and both knew they were mutually satisfied to have gotten Kurumu past this latest crisis.

Mizore's eyes then turned back to where the light beam now crashed into the seal.

"So the seal will now do all the work for her?"

Ruby's eyes now turned that way too, before she answered in a cautious tone.

"Yes, and no."

Knowing Mizore needed more of an explanation, she pointed at the seal's surface.

"Let's look at it, closely."

Mizore helped her over to the seal and they both examined it. Then the usually taciturn yukionna sucked in her breath as she saw were her witch companion was now pointing,

"It's already got a crack."

Beside her, Mizore saw Ruby nod gravely.

"How long till it cracks completely?"

Still supporting her, Mizore felt Ruby's shoulders rise slightly in a shallow shrug before she replied.

"I'm fairly confident we'll get a week out of it at least."

Having just seen what Ruby had gone through to make this seal, the idea of her turning around in a week to do it again wasn't comforting at all.

"Just…a week?"

Ruby could sense Mizore's concern for her well being and tried to allay her fears with a more in-depth discussion.

"Could be more. A few weeks, maybe a month or two. I just don't know. It's my first time using this magic, so I have no basis on which to make an estimate off of. I'm certainly not arrogant enough to think I'd match Mikogami-sensei's ability in creating them, especially on my first try, and even his notes on how long they last were…."

Mizore knew what Ruby was going to say even if she didn't want to say it about her revered recently deceased teacher.

"Vague?"

Ruby giggled and nodded as she replied.

"Well, you know how Mikogami-sensei was."

A shaft of sunshine then struck them both seemingly out of nowhere. Mizore then noticed the sky above them once more. Ruby's eyes followed hers upward as well.

"At least things seem to be improving, somewhat."

They saw the once roiling purple-black clouds part and pull back as a bright blue sky and golden sunlight drenched them in warming light.

"Yes, that's good."

They watched the ominous clouds retreat, but they didn't go away entirely. They lingered on all horizons, seeming to threaten to once more blot out the sun at any moment.

For now, though, Kurumu would be okay, and that was the whole point.

Then a new question began to burn inside Mizore's mind. With Kurumu now asleep, how were they supposed to exit her mind?

"So, now that this is settled, for now, how do we…"

* * *

Mizore bolted upright in bed, which made Yukari, who apparently had just been hovering over the three of them in her usual curiosity, shriek, and drawback in surprise, clutching her wand in both hands with stunned-wide open eyes and mouth to match.

Ruby also rose from her place on the other side of the sleeping Kurumu, but it was clear she was not well. She coughed a bit and a tiny drop of blood came out with the cough.

"RUBY-CHAN!"

Yukari rushed up to support her, and Mizore also stood up to offer support. After dabbing away the blood with a handkerchief from her own pocket Ruby smiled and answered the question their concerned looks demanded from her.

"I'll be fine."

They all then followed her gaze down to the right where Kurumu was now breathing softly in slumber.

"It took a lot to do, but it seems to be working."

* * *

An hour later and Ruby lay quietly in her bed with the now sleeping Yukari breathing steadily beside her. She should be asleep too, given the ordeal she had just been through, but her restless mind, combined with the needlelike occasional shot of pain that randomly occurred in her extremities were enough to keep her brain active.

The pains in her extremities were the leftover results of the Iron Maiden spell, but their sudden intensification she knew had been a result of tonight's magic. She had known she wasn't in a good enough condition, despite the amazing healing effects of Moka's shinso blood, to do top-level magics again yet.

Risking Kurumu revealing her bond with Tsukune before the way had been properly prepared risked everything she was now working toward though, so she had had no real choice in the matter. It was either take the new pain, or risk losing her new family, and her Tsukune, forever.

 _"It had to be done."_

After all, what was her life worth to her if she didn't have her loved ones with her?

Mizore and Yukari both had fussed over her greatly, but she was able to exit the room under her own power, though with great effort, shortly after the other two had managed to wrangle the deeply sleeping succubus's limp body under the covers on her side of the bed.

Seeing her walk through the portal between rooms on her own without using her staff as a crutch seemed to placate Mizore for the moment, but the second the portal closed behind them Yukari began to fuss over her again immediately.

She had tried to hide the more "concerning" aspects of the seal creation spell they had just found that very evening from Yukari, but despite her young age Yukari was no fool, especially were magic was concerned.

When she had informed Yukari that they needed to perform the magic tonight her concern for Ruby was obvious. She tried to talk her out of it twice and volunteered herself to do it three times, before finally giving in.

She turned to admire the sleeping face of the pretty younger witch, who drooled slightly on her pillow through her open mouth.

 _"No way in hell I'd ever let her do this, not while she's still a child."_

She had known from Mikogami's notes in the notebook that this was going to require a lot from her.

There is always a price to pay for using magic, and that price gets exponentially higher the more spectacular the magic is.

As if to remind her of the price she had to pay for tonight, three simultaneous needles of pain hit her then. One above her left elbow and the other two above and below her right knee. She grimaced but managed not to jerk in sudden pain or release a baleful moan.

One needle at a time was a manageable pain level for her. Two at the same time took some effort to get over calmly. The occasional three at one time nearly broke her resolve not to disturb Yukari's slumber though. She was grateful that so far four or more at a time had not occurred.

As the pattern went back to mostly one place needle stabs she was able to refocus on her previous thoughts.

Again her eyes fell on Yukari.

The younger witch had been so disturbed by Ruby's condition that Ruby had to placate her by saying she would consider letting Yukari do the spell for her the next time Kurumu needed it applied.

It was a lie, one designed to settle Yukari's immediate concerns. One that she knew she could talk Yukari out of holding her to when the time came for Kurumu's next seal to be applied, hopefully, weeks from now when Ruby was fully recovered.

Yukari was a powerful witch from a line of powerful wizards and witches, but especially powerful for her age. Even under Oyakata-sama's tutelage, Ruby couldn't have claimed to have been as proficient as her companion at that same age.

The Seal Creation Spell though had almost been too much for Ruby to endure. So there was no way she'd risk Yukari with it at this age, no matter how good she was.

 _"That won't happen for a very long time."_

If it ever happened at all. By the time Yukari was old enough and experienced enough for Ruby to judge her ready to use this type of spell, hopefully, the reasons for blocking Tsukune from realizing his link to Kurumu would be in the distant past.

 _"And by then, this spell should be completely unnecessary."_

She closed her eyes again and fought off another twinge of pain, before refocusing her thoughts once more.

 _"I need to check the office downstairs for other things Yukari and the others don't need to know."_

The flip side of Yukari being such a powerful witch at her young age is a considerable amount of overconfidence in her ability to control any magic.

If she found such "dangerous" materials that might tempt her young companion she'd move them to the Chairman's Office at the Academy.

 _"No."_

She suddenly realized her mistake.

 _"Tuskune-kun has the golden key, there's no place here he can't go, or take Yukari-chan with him."_

Now she'd need to scour both the Chairman's House and his office at the Academy for "contraband" that needed to be relocated to a safer location.

They would find new homes on the shelves at Oyakata-sama's home, where Ruby reigned supreme and could protect them from prying eyes. Even if Yukari used a dimensional portal to get there, Ruby's little green friends would alert her immediately.

 _"Good, that's settled."_

Yukari was just good enough already to be truly dangerous with magic she was not ready for. Eventually Ruby would share it all with her, but she was far too curious to not scour the available areas for "nuggets" that Mikogami-sensei, one of the Three Great Dark Lords, had left behind.

Thinking now of the recently deceased Founder and Chairman of Yokai Academy, brought Ruby back to his notebook where they had found the sealing spell earlier that day in his office.

 _"Seven seals in a row, truly amazing."_

It had taken a supreme effort on her part just to make the one, which she knew was inferior to any single one he had ever made.

 _"But seven?"_

She was truly amazed by his knowledge, skill, and abilities. Truly this showed why he was one of the Three Dark Lords.

But her mind was still troubled by the spell itself, or in truth, the reason behind it.

She had grown to know Mikogami well enough to know that when he found a source, he collected it. His shelves were full of books he acquired. He'd make his own notes in the margins of these books, meticulously dating them. He was a bit pedantic about it.

Likewise, for his own spells that he developed, he'd reference the source of his idea, date it, and detail it to the best of his ability. There were vague parts, but that was only because he himself couldn't find the concise answer.

If he based a spell off something he had seen in another source, he ALWAYS referenced the source, but if the idea had been his own and completely not based on other sources, he'd only name and date it.

In the notebook this sealing spell and been named and dated, but not referenced to another source.

It was Mikogami-sensei's own creation.

 _"But why did he create this sealing spell?"_

While what Ruby told Yukari earlier about there being more than a few mindwalking species of Yokai out there was true, once she deployed this spell herself she inherently knew it had been tailor-made for just one particular species of mindwalking Yokai. The unique features of the spell were designed to block one-way metal "traffic" on a two-way mental "road".

There was only one species she knew of that shared a two way mental bond of the intensity this seal was designed to block. It was excessive overkill otherwise, especially considering it allowed a fraction of the link to pass through it undisturbed by design.

 _"This seal spell is only for blocking the Succubus Mate of Fate Bond."_

Unless there was some obscure species with the exact same type of bonding ability and one that Mikogami would help but never note, then the only conclusion was that this was designed specifically for succubi.

 _"But why would another succubus want to block her mate of fate bond on purpose?"_

True, she only knew two succubi, but she knew Kurumu's true desire was to revel in their bond to Tsukune. As for the other succubus she knew, there's no way Kurumu's mother would ever do such a thing.

After another twinge of pain, she suddenly remembered how Kurumu never talked once about her father, and avoided using her mother as an example earlier that day.

 _"I wonder…."_

The date on Mikogami's notes for this spell had also been curious to her.

 _"Nearly eighteen years ago this autumn."_

Her pains seemed to have lessened a bit, and she could feel her exhaustion begin to win the battle against it.

Still, her mind was wondering furiously on this topic in these last moments of consciousness.

 _"Kurumu had just turned seventeen this very month."_

The date on the spell in Mikogami's notebook had been from early December, nearly eighteen years ago.

 _"Kurumu-chan would have been conceived most likely that same November."_

It was a startling coincidence how well the two events dovetailed with each other, and the fact that her father was apparently a topic Kurumu never discussed only added more "spice" to this rather interesting "dish" she was making in her mind.

Her mother had graduated from Yokai Academy the previous March, and her aunt had begun attending that same April.

 _"Mikogami-sensei knew them both, and probably their parents too."_

Her own curiosity and position as Mikogami's semi-official assistant had given her access to almost all of Yokai Academy's files and the motivation to peruse them for valuable information. Before Kurumu herself became a student here, her mother and aunt had been the only succubi to have attended the Academy.

 _"But….Agehe?"_

From her rather brief interactions with Kurumu's mother, Korono Agehe seemed like the last person that would ever want to block a mate of fate bond for any reason, and Kurumu had led them all to believe most succubi are more like her mother than her.

 _"But…no mention of her father?"_

The possibility of the aunt now came to mind, but again why any succubus would want to block the bonded mate escaped her.

 _"Obviously, it wasn't by preference, but a necessity."_

She was determined to get Kurumu to discuss her family situation a bit more now, once they both had fully, or at least partially recovered.

 _"But outside this very unique circumstance, why would a succubus need to ever block her mate of fate bond?"_

Sleep finally won the battle, and Ruby drifted off so her body could recover. She didn't dream of the questions behind why her sensei had made this spell, seemingly just for succubi, or the other mysteries surrounding it, but she wouldn't forget those questions when she woke either. Ruby was a force unto herself when she had a goal in mind.

That night, like most, she drifted off to places where she was most at home. To the sunflower field, and Oyakata-sama's firm but gentle hand, to the fun times she had spent with her new friends and especially Tsukune-kun's endearing smile, and to a bittersweet place for her where she held a beautiful woman's hand as she rode atop a very strong man's shoulders as they laughed and giggled in the sun. She only ever knew them as Haha and Chichi, but she would always remember her mother's beautiful, golden eyes, and her father's soothing, deep voice.

* * *

She could feel the torture he was in inside her own heart. The tormented mind dragging her along from one nightmare to the next. Each nightmare was more overwhelming and shocking than the last, her, unable to guide and direct that tortured mind as effectively as she once had. His subconscious mind knowing what she never allowed him to remember consciously, and becoming ever more desperate to find her in the dreamscape. Not the dream version of her, but the real her.

Then she felt it shatter into a million pieces. She heard the sound as if a great stone had been exploded right next to her bed.

She bolted upright, struggling for breath, lungs burning, well-endowed breasts heaving up and down to the terrifyingly fast rate of her ragged breathing.

It felt as if her pounding heart would burst out from between her breasts at any moment.

It was only then that she realized that her sheets and nightgown were soaked in her own sweat, as was her hair.

She knew she had lost one.

One of the last seven seals that her former Academy Chairman had been replenishing for her these past eighteen years.

Now she was down to just five.

And he had gone and let himself die just days ago.

So these were the last five seals that protected her, and…..

 _"….him."_

If she couldn't find a replacement for these final five seals, what then?

 _"Then….."_

The final part of her dreaded answer was expelled out loud to the mostly darkened room through her gasps of still ragged breath.

"…we both…..die."

Using the seals all these years had taken their toll. She was still exceptionally gorgeous, but she looked her age, in human terms, but by succubi terms, she was prematurely aging. No succubus in her mid-thirties should actually look that age. She should look like a human woman in her early twenties. Her own mother now looked younger than her, and her sister, even after three girls, still looked like she could be in high school herself.

Looks weren't the only negative side effect of having become so dependent on the seals though.

She was physically weaker than a normal succubus and required regular mindwalking sessions with her mother to maintain her health and sanity.

Since, "that person's" death a few weeks back, "his" tormented dreams and natural need for his mate of fate had only increased the demands on her mind and body, even with now only five seals still in place.

His subconscious need for her was starting to wear her ability to contain him away.

With Mikogami dead, an enforced ending to all these years of pain was now inevitable.

She rose from the bed wearily and pulled the sopping nightgown off her in frustration, tossing the damp cloth to the floor.

She laid her head against the ceiling to floor glass wall that formed this side of her condo that she had shared with her precious little one before she left for school and looked out on the nighttime cityscape around her.

Even at night, no one could see her admittedly still exquisite naked form, she had made certain of that when she moved in as she often didn't wear any clothes at all when alone.

Her daughter didn't even know why all these years ago she had picked this particular condo, but her mother had figured it out on her very first and subsequently rare visits here.

"That's where 'he' lives, isn't it?"

On a clear day you can see thirty kilometers away to where "he" worked inside one of that other mid-sized ring city's taller buildings.

She knew the exact one. She could even make out its specific lights even now.

His home was several kilometers away from the city center, but she knew exactly where it was too.

She had the key to that house on her keychain.

Tomorrow night, like she had been doing twice a week for nearly eighteen years now, she'd sneak into that house and wake him up for only the briefest of moments, only to use the full force of her Charm on him, and with him it always took the full force of her Charm to get him to comply against his will.

To make him forget the woman he loved….her, for another few days.

Depending on how roughly it went, she'd either come back here afterward and pass out, or more likely these days, crawl to her parents' house so that her mother could mindwalk her back to a semblance of normality.

She felt the tears slip off her face and fall down the window pane as she began to sob.

Mikogami-sensei was gone, and that meant eventually she would lose her battle to keep him ignorant of her existence. The reignited bond, having been forcibly suppressed all these years, might well kill them both in the flood held behind this great mental dam they had built for her to hide behind.

Her red and leaking eyes fell on the picture of her precious little one, barely visible in the half-light on her nearby dresser.

If the initial flood didn't kill her, then his hate and rage at her when he finally learn the truth of what she had truly denied him, denied them both, all these years would surely kill them at once.

 _"How could he ever forgive me, for hiding our…for hiding his…..daughter, all these years?"_

She knew she could never weather that storm, and it would cost them both their lives, and their daughter would hate her for it forever after.

Agehe collapsed to the floor still leaning on the glass and wailed uncontrollably. Only at times like this, when she was truly alone, did she allow that most beloved name to escape her secret heart and tumble from her quivering lips.

"Hiroshi-kun! My Beloved!"

* * *

She was glad she heard him first this time.

Normally Kirei heard him before she did, but not tonight.

 _"That's good."_

Kirei was hurting just as much as the rest of them, but with school coming, and having to step into some very big shoes, Kimiko was glad she could help her Nee-chan out by letting her sleep.

Their brother, Toshikazu, could sleep through a Typhoon, but that was good right now too.

Of the three siblings, he was openly having the hardest time coping with their mother's death a few weeks ago. When he was awake, he'd either be sobbing uncontrollably our destroying his things on purpose to vent his wild emotions.

 _"Why can't boys just cry normally?"_

Their father was a boy too, though, and he didn't even allow himself any tears, at least where his children were concerned.

All forced smiles and encouraging words that her Nee-chan and she both knew his heart didn't truly feel. Even Toshikazu wasn't depressed and dense enough to believe their father was maintaining his composure so well as he appeared to be.

But his rough nightmares, while they may be worse now that mother wasn't here to help, had always been caused by something else.

She had the cool, damp hand towel already in her hand when she entered his room.

He was thrashing about mumbling.

He was mostly incoherent but some of his usual words spilled out.

"Darling…Beloved."

She crawled into the bed beside him and slid next to him carefully. More than once, completely in his unconscious dream state, he accidentally hit her as she approached him. Not hard, but she was five, so even his soft movements could be hard for her to take.

She got in close and had the towel on his forehead when she began to whisper to him.

"It's alright Chichi, it's your Kimiko-chan. Everything is alright."

She was never sure if he fully woke when she did this or just partially, but he always said her name once he'd calmed down.

This time was no different.

"Kimiko-chan."

"Yes Chichi, go back to sleep."

He effortlessly obeyed.

Once she was sure he was asleep again she took the damp cloth and cleaned his face and his neck, which even in his sleep seemed to please him.

She put it back on his forehead when she was done and snuggled in beside him, where her mother used to sleep.

He had yet to take a place in the middle of the bed, and she doubted he ever would, her side remaining empty, but for the occasional visit by their youngest child, seemed to be some subconscious memorial to her from him.

She had secretly taken some of her mother's possessions into her safekeeping. The last used pillowcase her mother had slept on being one such item.

She'd pull it out from the box under her bed and smell it….smell her, at least twice a day.

The pillowcase on the pillow she rested her head on now was fresh, but the pillow had also been her mother's. She took a deep breath and found that familiar scent that only her mother had.

She fought back tears that threatened her now.

She vowed that this pillow would also find its way into her memorial collection before it lost her essence too.

"Beloved."

His mumbled word brought her out of her building melancholia.

She looked at him as his tongue worked on his lips, threatening to start his almost regular nightly torments yet again.

A few moments later she relaxed.

She knew a five-year-old shouldn't be taking care of her father in this way, especially when she herself should be completely devastated by her mother's death, but she also knew she had never been a normal child either.

Her mother had always said she was way too old for her age, and Nee-chan seemed to agree with her.

Still, she was happy she could help them all out in this way.

She also had a secret.

A secret that all the siblings knew, but only she could remember.

Tomorrow night, on schedule, Ao-chan would come.

After Blue-chan makes her twice-weekly night visits Chichi would be good for a few more days. It was always roughest for him the night before she came, but Blue-chan always made Chichi better.

Not only that, but Blue-chan was the only one she felt she could talk to about Haha and how she feels about having lost her mother.

 _"And she always brings me ice cream."_

She always visits Chichi first, then Toshikazu, followed by Kirei, Charming each in turn. Then she and Ao-chan have ice cream and talk at the table, then she puts her back in bed, Charming her last of all before she locks up and leaves.

Of course, Kimiko knew she shouldn't remember any of this, that was the whole point of Ao-chan's Charm ability, to make them all forget her, but she also knew she's special.

She always pretends to obey Blue-chan when she's Charming her and fall back to sleep.

Unlike her parents and her siblings though, Charm just doesn't work on her, it never had, and even Ao-chan, especially Ao-chan, didn't know.

She alone was chosen to keep Blue-chan's secret with her.

This made her very proud.

Then her father began to mumble again

"….Agehe."

That was Blue-chan's real name. The name even he didn't remember when he was awake.

Agehe…the Butterfly.

Another of Blue-chan's secrets that she would hide inside her heart.

Kimiko snuggled in closer to her father and whispered into his ear.

"Don't worry Chichi, the beautiful butterfly will be here tomorrow night, then everything will be better."

They both smiled and Kimiko joined her father in sleep.


	17. Slowly Onward Part V

Tsukune felt the relentless heat of the August sun on his face and shoulders and back, but it wasn't the same as before.

He sweated like before, but he knew he could turn off his sweating now if he really wanted to.

He knew instinctively that he also wouldn't be sunburnt tonight despite being out in the afternoon sun for the last two hours.

More gifts of Moka's shinso blood flowing through his veins.

The midnight blue of his new early model Lincoln Continental would be more afflicted by this berating sunlight than he would.

From her place on an A-frame ladder behind the vehicle, Yukari held the water hose upright in one hand and an umbrella shading her from that blazing sun in another.

By the time the water she was arching over the vehicle reached the surface of the car, or Tsukune's clothes and skin, it had turned into a fine mist, which was perfect for keeping him cool and the surface spot free.

He dunked the sponge into the soapy water again and began washing the side of the car.

It didn't really need to be washed. It was perfect from before.

Still, washing the car today wasn't really about the task, but the distraction it would provide him.

It was a therapeutic car washing for Tsukune's mind.

This morning was the first time Tsukune woke in this house where he hadn't woke in the middle of the night before or even remember having had a dream, good or bad.

He had no idea why or what had changed, but he was glad for it.

Today he had finally begun to feel like himself again.

That didn't mean that when he was awake "she" wasn't on his mind. Far from it really, but it did mean he at least wasn't physically exhausted at last.

Not that he really could get physically exhausted anymore.

He knew his exhaustion was of a mental variety.

Truthfully it was an overbearing emotional weariness, but he didn't even allow himself those kinds of thoughts.

Those thoughts would lead him back to "her", and he knew he couldn't allow himself to think of "her" if he truly planned to move forward.

That "Tsukune", the weak one that wanted to curl up into a ball and join "her" in death, had to be suppressed at all costs.

He cut his eyes upward then to see a sadly concerned Yukari looking down on him and forced a smile onto his face.

" _Idiot,"_ he told himself. _"There's only one Moka."_

He had no idea why Yukari would want to come out here and sweat with him as he washed the car, but he was glad for it, so long as he could manage not to worry her further by letting his real emotions show again on his face.

She meekly smiled back at him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that his smile wasn't fooling her any more than it was fooling any of the others.

" _Still, I have to try to make them believe it."_

He kept that forced smile on his face as he again soaped up the sponge and attacked a new spot on the side of the car.

He couldn't admit to himself that he also was trying to fool himself into believing he was fine.

* * *

It was easy enough to look out the huge windows on either side of the fireplace and see Tsukune working away on the car's painted surfaces and Yukari holding her umbrella and water hose on the ladder over him.

Moka tried to pretend she was reading a book, but like her three companions were doing rather more openly, her eyes mostly were looking through the windows with concern.

The four of them were obviously also not believers in Tsukune's faked contentment if judged by the worried expressions on their faces.

"He said he slept well last night, so that's something."

Ruby applied her usual optimism in tone and expression. That Tsukune and she both shared this need to hide their darker emotions behind forced happiness had occurred to Moka long before the latest tragedies in their lives.

"Yeah, and he apparently didn't get up any either."

Mizore's face was placid as ever. Only her eyes ever seemed to tell what was truly in her mind.

Ruby again tacked on more optimistic words after Mizore's statement.

"A significant improvement."

There was an odd sense of satisfaction in her expression and words that Moka couldn't quite place the source for. She wondered if Ruby had found a magic spell to put on him to keep him from getting up, but dismissed it since she surely would have told them if she had.

Kurumu's face was, as usual for her, an open book to her soul. She wore her thoughts and concerns on her sleeves, always.

"Yeah, for one night at least."

She clearly didn't think the good night sleep Tsukune had had would be repeated tonight from her downtrodden expression and exasperated tone.

"He'll be fine."

They all turned to look at the previously quiet Moka.

"Everything will be fine, eventually."

She pretended to be engrossed in her book as she heard Ruby again support the optimistic position.

"I'm sure Moka-san is right. They say time heals all wounds."

Kurumu practically sneered in response to this assessment.

"'They' say that, but 'they' are full of crap."

Kurumu seemed to be determined to find the dark cloud being surrounded by the silver lining. Before anyone could try to retort though, the other three girls looked away from Tsukune and near the driveway entrance with sudden surprise.

"The Bus is pulling in."

Kurumu practically oozed dread and irritation at Mizore's words.

"Gah! I hope it's not the boys again. That's the last thing we need."

Moka had to stand to look out the window in that direction. She saw the Bus come to a stop near the Continental and Tsukune walk up to speak with Bus Driver. Then two women stepped off the Bus and Tsukune greeted them as did Yukari.

Moka had joined Kurumu in her complete lack of enthusiasm as she saw exactly who had just arrived.

"I'd now say the boys coming back is the second to last thing we needed."

Kurumu was downright mortified by the sudden arrival of their unexpected guests.

"What are THEY doing here?"

Only Ruby seemed to not be put off by this seemingly unpleasant interruption.

"Shall we find out?"

She didn't wait for their answers and moved off to the front door. Three rather unhappy Yokia females followed her out, reluctantly.

* * *

"MOTHER! Let go of my Tsukune! Can't you see how hot he is?"

Tsukune's face, in what he now assumed was traditional succubi greeting fashion, was jammed firmly between Ageha's ample bosoms. He had apparently become so used to this occurrence whenever Kurumu's mother showed up that now he didn't even attempt to struggle for breath like he once had.

Ageha, squeezing Tsukune's head firmly into her chest, sent her irate daughter a glowing smile of joy.

"Haha! Of course, I can see how HOTT my poor future son-in-law is. That's why I'm here comforting him."

"For once a succubus is right."

With surprising force, Tsurara pried Tsukune effortlessly from a now furious Ageha's grasp.

"You should listen to your daughter."

Then she calmly laid his head on her own smaller, but still ample, right breast and patted his cheek and forehead gently.

"Clearly MY future son-in-law needs his future mother-in-law's cooling touch in this oppressive heat."

"…mother."

Mizore's one work plea to her own mother held more concern for her mother's safety than Kurumu's more aggressive challenge to her mother had moments before.

A certain vampire's fists and teeth were clenched and her eyes were glowing a brilliant shade of "rage" red.

"How dare you…"

Ageha apparently was as blithely unaware of the impending vampiric danger as her rival as the two again began to pull Tsukune forcefully around between them.

Despite Yukari's obvious enjoyment of the fracas Ruby was beginning to try to formulate in her mind ways to mitigate the impending confrontation when support came from an unexpected source.

"ENOUGH."

His voice had been firm but held no anger in it. Still, for Tsukune to authoritatively raise his voice in such a manner stunned everyone present but the unperturbable Bus Driver, who nodded slowly in approval.

Once he had broken the tense situation and had all their stunned expressions looking toward him, Tsukune calmly spoke again.

"You are both welcome here, but do try not to upset the other ladies, please."

After a brief moment to recover her thoughts, Tsurara began to smile seductively towards him as she replied.

"Ara, ara! So manfully forceful. Our Tsukune-kun is becoming such a strong man Mizore."

Ageha had joined her erstwhile rival in sending the young man a warmly admiring glance.

"I must say Tsukune-kun, if my Kuru-chan didn't already have her claws in you I just might..."

"Enough, mother."

Kurumu had managed to recover too and her voice was dripping with irritation and frustration.

"Why are you two here, anyway?"

Moka's voice was just a perturbed and held considerably more menace to it than the younger succubus had displayed.

This brought both older women's cold regard to her as Ageha spoke.

"Oh…it's 'her'."

"Ladies, why don't we take this inside?"

Tsukune now acted quickly to head off more impending confrontation, inviting the women inside as he stepped between their lines of sight to the still fuming vampire.

"What a wonderful idea my handsome young man."

Tsurara placed her hand lovingly on his chest as she moved past him towards Mizore and the front entrance beyond, before stepping back to loop her right arm through his left.

Ageha stepped up quickly and did the same on his other side.

"Yes, let's go see this new love nest my daughter and you are preparing. I can't wait for all the grandaughters you'll give me."

Tsurara gently covered her mouth to chuckle before retorting.

"Please, as if your spawn could stand a chance with him beside the alabaster perfection that is my Mizore."

Rather more dramatically, as befitted her nature, Ageha blurted out a response of her own.

"HA! Your junior popsicle could never bring the passionate fire Tsukune needs that only my Kurumu can give him."

As if to prove her point she moved in a way to make her oversized breasts bounce against his arm.

Suddenly a torrent of water came cascading down on all three of them.

From her perch still atop the ladder, Yukari gave the worst attempt possible at looking sorry that any of them had ever seen. She clearly had drenched them on purpose and for her own obvious amusement.

"Whoops! Sorry! I slipped."

Tsukune just sighed, but the two ladies sent her back death glares.

"INDEED!"

Ageha's voice dripped enough anger that Yukari now looked properly contrite and she offered to fix the situation immediately.

"I'll fix that for you."

Tsurara had recovered her composure swiftly though and waved the young woman's offer off.

"No need dear."

The water droplets seemed to be drawn out of the clothes and formed on the outside of her and Tsukune's skin, instantly turning into ice crystals in the process. Tsukune even shivered, but just as suddenly they seemed to vibrate and drop to the ground, quickly melting on the hot pavement as Tsurara again took Tsukune's arm.

She looked behind his shoulder with a viciously victorious expression to where a still dripping wet and enraged Ageha glared back at her in fury.

"Some of us have 'useful' skills."

Before Ageha could attack her a sudden wave of magical energy from Ruby's staff washed over her, seemingly shedding the water off her and onto the pavement as if a dog had shaken it off, without Ageha having to move at all.

Now dry, Ageha raced up to retake her side of Tsukune as well, with their distraught looking daughters and a still very enraged vampire reluctantly following them to the front porch.

Ruby stepped toward the Bus then, stopping long enough to send her overly amused fellow witch a half-hearted scolding look. Yukari jumped down from the ladder and followed the others after winking at Ruby mirthfully.

Ruby then got close enough to ask Bus Driver a discrete question.

"Have they been like this the whole way here?"

He chuckled before giving his usually toothy grinning reply after shifting his cigar around with his hand.

"Yes, and no. Most of this display is for you guys 'benefit'."

They both looked back toward where the others were entering the front door before Ruby also somewhat reluctantly moved to follow.

* * *

Tsurara and Ageha both seemed impressed enough by the two-story vaulted living room to forget to try to molest Tsukune or fight each other for the time being.

"Again, you're here…WHY?"

This time the irritated question didn't come from the vampire but from the younger succubus.

A flash of anger crossed the face of her mother before her expression went rather ominously placid. Her voice also was placid, but with a backing to it that made her daughter recoil contritely from her.

"To see where our daughters live now, and you can stow that uppity attitude of yours where you found it before I give you a real reminder who is the parent and who is the child. Do we understand each other young lady?"

Kurumu wasn't someone easily cowed, but her mother clearly knew how to manage her.

"…yes, ma'am."

Ageha pleasantly smiled back now, all anger with her only child seemingly forgotten instantly.

"Good. Now show us your rooms."

The two girls, and to Moka's obvious anger Tsukune as well, showed the house to their mothers as the young witches prepared tea and snacks and the still angry vampire tried to bury her annoyance over the situation at the kitchen table.

By the time the tour was over Moka and the witches had relocated to the formal dining room.

Now everyone sipped tea and ate around the dining room table, minus one vampire who seemingly had disappeared well before the ladies had arrived.

"Would you ladies care to join us for dinner tonight?"

Ruby had taken on the duty to play the gracious hostess in this situation and asked them the polite question as she poured for Tsurara.

If she felt the looks of betrayal sent her way by the other three teenage women in the room she skillfully ignored them.

"In fact, it is you all who will be joining us for dinner."

Tsurara's enigmatic reply drew concerned expressions from the entire room, as they seemingly responded in unison.

"Oh?"

Ageha obviously was in on the operation as she nodded over the rim of her own teacup and spoke.

"Go pack your bags for a three-day trip."

Tsurara took a sip of her own tea as more confused looks greeted them, but then added on additional details.

"Cold weather gear, but nothing super heavy. We can take care of those needs from the lodge's store."

Mizore finally seemed to understand where their mothers were going to take them.

"You want us to go to the village?"

Tsurara shook her head before responding to her daughter.

"No. just the lodge. We're laying down powder for the coming season."

Yukari's stunned-sounding question could have been asked by any of them, minus Mizore.

"In August?"

Tsurara calmly answered after another languid sip of her tea.

"We yukionna pride ourselves in being the first ski resorts in Japan to open and the last to close."

"But mother, we really can't….."

Tsurara never lost her subtle smile or delicate features, but just as firmly as her succubus counterpart had answered her own child when they first entered the Chairman's House, her response brooked no option for appeals.

"You can, and YOU will."

"As will you."

Ageha's own add-on for Kurumu's benefit only drew a surprisingly weak one-word response from the usually forceful young succubus.

"…but."

Tsurara then smiled brightly at Tsukune as she spoke once more.

"Your fiancé and your friends, of course, are welcome, but they don't have to come if they'd rather not."

By the way she sent him a surprisingly warm look for a yukionna, it was clear she preferred he come, and the other girls stay.

Kurumu finally found her backbone again and replied to that suggestion with firm determination now.

"I am not leaving Tsukune side!"

Though the expected response from her, the rather unexpected tone of firmness and resolve in her voice made both women send her a strange expression then.

This also drew the already perturbed vampire's glare to Kurumu briefly, but then Mizore joined her roommate in the resolve not to leave their beloved's side.

"Me either."

This type of defiance from their daughters apparently was acceptable to their mothers as both continued to smile and nod as Tsurara again spoke up.

"Excellent, he's the most welcome of all to join us."

The two usual rivals suddenly seemed to be a well-oiled machine together as Ageha added on next.

"In fact, you other girls can all stay here while Tsukune-kun gets more….."

"Let's go pack."

Moka was on her feet now and leering down ominously at the two older women who smiled back as they sipped confidently on their tea.

"Moka, are you…."

Ruby was gravely concerned by this turn of events, but Moka quickly moved off, mumbling rather loudly as she passed the others, but apparently addressing the rather downtrodden Tsukune.

"No way am I leaving you alone with…..' them'."

Both ladies snickered and covered their mouths at her angst, with Ageha calling out behind her.

"Oh! Fufu! Well, I guess it can't be helped then."

Her ever deepening anger only made them both snicker more as their daughters sent them distraught expressions and all the younger folks filed out of the dining room, Tsukune and Ruby being the only ones to beg their pardon to go pack.

"What's going on Onee-sama?"

Kokoa was descending the stairs as her approaching sister's obvious angry mood suddenly reached her consciousness.

Moka apparently was surprised by her younger sister's sudden appearance in her path. She also seemed to suddenly realize her sister had been conspicuously absent from this afternoon's turmoil.

"Where have you been?"

Her angry question stunned Kokoa enough to back her out of her way against the stair railing. The younger vampire, worried she had done something supremely wrong and had offended her beloved Onee-sama, attempted to stutter out an adequate response to appease her glaring elder.

"I…..I was….."

"Nevermind!"

Moka suddenly turning away from her and proceeding on up to the next floor seemed to be just as jarring to her younger sister as the initial enraged contact had been. The other girls sent her various looks matching their own moods as she looked back in confusion as her sister next gave her odd-sounding instructions.

"Come pack for winter weather. We're going to the yukionna ski resort."

By her perplexed expression, Moka might as well have just told her sister they were going to the moon.

Kokoa finally was able to find her voice again.

"….what?"

Moka rounded the top of the stairs and continued to ignore her sister's question.

"But it's August…"

* * *

None of them had been brave enough to sit in the non-air conditioned Bus in winter clothing, not in the heat of August.

Like any trip in this Bus though, it wouldn't take nearly as long as it would for a normal vehicle, and thus shortly after exiting the dimensional tunnel, whose terminus this time was a real tunnel in the side of a mountain, the gang broke open their luggage and put on pants and jackets as soon as the colder air seeped in.

It may have been summer down in the lower elevations, but August this high in the mountains was more like autumn.

Then their ears began to pop as the Bus moved down roads that only sloped upward, and the crisp air became downright frigid.

Then they started to see little patches of fine white powder clinging to leaves and branches. A few minutes later pockets of the stuff could be seen wherever sunlight couldn't touch it. A few minutes more and they were in a world of whites and grays.

Of course, none of this really surprised them, other than snow at this particular time of year. This wasn't their first trip to Mizore's home deep in the mountains.

Truth was, other than the two older ladies near the front of the Bus yammering away at each other, this had been an oddly quiet journey for this group so far.

The reason for that sat right beside Tsukune.

Had any of them been truly cold enough the angry heat washing in waves off Moka could have kept them all warm.

Even her adoring Kokoa was still afraid of her, choosing to sit nearer the front with the two adults rather than risk Onee-sama's wrath again.

Tsukune had tried to gently take her hand a few times but Moka had managed to avoid his grasp skillfully without indicating anger at him in any way. Even still, he didn't think she was mad at anyone in particular, including him, with the possible exception of the two mothers upfront.

Some of the anger she directed at the mothers, of course, reflected back on the daughters, but true to form Mizore and Kurumu were the only two brave enough to sit in seats close to the "boiling" vampire. If she wouldn't let them sit beside their beloved Tsukune, then they'd sit right behind him no matter what the vampire wanted, which only added to Moka's growing irritation.

As usual, the witches sat a row or two back on the other side of the aisle so that Ruby could have a good observation position of the others and potentially head off any problems ahead of time.

Yukari though….was Yukari.

"It's true! It's true!"

Her sudden exuberant shout made everyone jump, unpleasantly breaking the silent tension between them all.

"There IS snow on the ground here in August!"

She seemed almost oblivious to Moka's mood chilling effects.

Mizore took the chance to also speak up at last.

"Even on hot days it rarely gets above 13°C up here. Plus there's so much snow left over that summer isn't hot enough to melt everything up here before temperatures drop again."

Yukari seemed very impressed by this fact.

"My coven is in the mountains too but not this high up. I had no idea the whole area up here stayed covered all year round!"

Kurumu stirring uncomfortably and making an odd face suddenly made them all look at her in concern.

"A barrier?"

Kurumu nodded before answering Ruby.

"Yeah, but I don't remember one this far out from last time."

"Oh! Right."

They now looked at Mizore with curiosity. Noticing that, Mizore explained the situation to them.

"You guys have only been here in winter before. At this time of year, the barrier that just surrounds the Snow Village is extended outward to cover all the surrounding ski resorts we own so that we can lay down powder for the upcoming season. Before the season starts the High Priestess will pull the barrier back in so that humans and other Yokai can access the ski resorts easier and we can hide the Snow Village even better."

The Snow Village had a magic barrier around it when they last visited. Not as extensive a deterrent as the Great Barrier around the Academy, it was more like the Teacher's Barrier. It was designed to confuse and mystify any unwelcomed person that tried to cross it, or at the very least confound them long enough for the yukionna to use their own talents on the intruders.

"Can't be the same barrier."

Kurumu was unconvinced.

"It was a lot weaker than the Snow Village Barrier."

From her place near the front, Tsurara corrected this misconception.

"The power of the barrier is constant no matter what size we make it. So when it is extended outward in spring to cover the resorts and surrounding mountains for snow laying, it becomes noticeably weaker than when it is pulled in tight around the village."

Mizore added on.

"In winter there are a lot more non-yokai visitors here, which we, of course, encourage, so a stronger barrier around just the village is more effective at keeping them away from it and back on the slopes making us money. In the summer there are much fewer visitors, but like this road we're on now, public roads do cross into our territory so some humans coming through are unavoidable, but the weaker barrier protects our snow production activities from their prying eyes."

"So let me get this straight."

Yukari was clearly interested in all of this.

"People that come up here in winter to ski can easily find your ski lodges, but if they come back in summer they get lost trying to return to them?"

Mizore and her mother exchanged sly smiles before Tsurara answered.

"You wouldn't believe how many return customers come up and say they drove through in the summertime and simply could not find the place, hehe."

Mizore tacked on more.

"We always tell them the same thing. This whole area is a completely different place in the summer."

Both yukionna were clearly amused by this deception of theirs.

Moka, however, continued to fume in her seat, clearly uninterested in this pointless exposition on local yukionna activities.

Tsukune, who had enjoyed the conversation so far, mostly as a break from the previous tension, now again saw Moka was still in a terribly foul mood.

Usually, Tsukune would be disappointed and saddened by this, or sympathetic to her; but not this time.

The "usual" Tsukune was suddenly replaced by someone else entirely.

"Are you going to be in a bad mood the whole damn time or can we expect you to pull that stick out your ass sometime soon?"

Even he had been stunned by his sudden unexpected outburst of anger at her. His own eyes widened in shock over what he just said to her. He covered his mouth with both hands as if it had betrayed him as his mind desperately sought a way out of this horrid situation where she still would love him.

No one was more stunned by this from him than she was.

She gaped wide mouthed at him as if he had just stabbed her in the heart.

The others, equally stunned, even moved back from the pair as if they were now radioactive.

They all waited for her to explode in a ball of fury at him. Even Kokoa, who would normally pounce on any chance to discredit him in her Onee-sama's eyes, seemed too stunned to make her own move against him.

"ARA! ARA! TSUKUNE-KUN!"

The first to recover were also the most amused by this turn of events. Ageha and Tsurara were both looking back in eager anticipation of what would happen next.

"Indeed! So…forceful of you Tsukune-kun."

Their words of mild encouragement only drove Tsukune into deeper levels of fear as Moka's flashing red eyes and grinding teeth were at least temporarily redirected toward the front of the Bus.

In the lull created by the older women's taunting words, Ruby, Mizore, and Yukari both sent questioning gazes at the younger succubus, who seemed to have sunk behind the seatback in order to avoid direct eye contact with Moka.

That outburst certainly did sound more like something she'd say to the volatile vampire than their normally compromising and gentle Tsukune ever would utter, but when she saw their probing gazes she replied with a meek head shake. It clearly wasn't her doing, and she was just as shocked as the rest.

"…you…"

Moka's voice was deathly low, more like a growl. Tsukune moved away from her as if he could melt into the side of the Bus if he tried hard enough.

"…YOU."

He braced himself for her coming fury and prayed silently that he hadn't marred their relationship forever by his careless and cruel words.

"You're….right."

Silence reigned supreme throughout the Bus again. Even the usually amused Bus Driver stayed deathly quiet except for his actions in guiding the vehicle.

Moka's words, Inner-Moka's words, of contrition seemed even more stunning to the witnesses of it than Tsukune's previous angry outburst.

"…huh? He's what?"

Kokoa's mystified words broke the spell of silence that had hung over them.

Next came Ageha's own disbelieving question.

"What did she say?"

Tsukune was as stunned by her meek reply as anyone, but now he found his words and began to panic in an entirely new way.

"NO! I'M SORRY! I HAD NO RIGHT TO…."

"It's….alright."

To everyone's continued surprise, she gave him a slight smile and took his hand in hers at last.

"I was wrong to act so….petulantly."

Though she hesitated to find a word to describe her being downright unpleasant in a way she could tolerate admitting, that didn't change the fact she, Inner-Moka, the shinso vampire supreme, had just done something so unlike her, and so like that other Moka, as to apologize for her bad attitude.

Tsukune's reaction clearly indicated he also was thrown off by her surprising contrition and clearly thought she was trying to take his "position" in their relationship by his refusal to accept it and begging her to accept his own apology in return.

"But I should never have spoken to you that way or raised my voice at you! I have no idea what came over me, but…"

If he could have in the cramped space he would have performed dogeza toward her, but that would have put his forehead in her lap.

"It's alright Tsukune, you're entitled to the RARE corrective outburst, especially when I am…..wrong, to act the way I was."

She was struggling, as it was so against her nature to apologize, but she was managing to do just that and even seemed to be convincing the other girls of her sincerity.

"Will you please forgive me?"

She bowed slightly to him, which again sent him into a sudden apologizing panic of his own. When he bowed back swiftly to her too. It was a miracle they didn't bump heads.

"Oh! No! There's nothing to forgive on your side. It's I that must beg your forgiveness!"

This back and forth apology session seemed to have the potential to stretch on forever, or until Moka's patience broke once more, when suddenly an irritated voice from behind them put a stop to it all.

"Forgive each other already so we can move on, sheesh!"

Kurumu was an unlikely peacemaker between her beloved Tsukune and her most "formidable" rival for his affections, but after recent events, her demanding a stop to the drama didn't seem as shocking as it normally might have.

Tsukune and Moka exchanged brief nods and both whispered their apologies to each other one last time, but when they finished they were still holding hands.

Kurumu brokering the peace had brought everyone sudden relief, except one person.

Ageha's confused and irritated look at her daughter's seemingly odd behavior, for a succubus in love, didn't go unnoticed by her only child. Succubi don't help other women with resolving conflicts, especially with men they are in love with. Many questions now swam in the mother's mind about the exact relationship developments between her daughter and Tsukune.

Kurumu had rather skillfully managed to avoid the rebuking glare she knew her mother had just sent her way, but an unpleasant "discussion" about her odd behavior just now couldn't possibly be avoided once they had settled in at the Shirayuki Ski Lodge. She might be able to avoid her mother cornering her for a while, but there was no way Ageha would let her off the hook without an explanation.

Kurono Ahega, only after Moka, maybe even before Moka, was the last person she wanted to learn about her mate of fate bond with Tsukune. She might as well walk up and tell Moka herself, otherwise, her mother would, much more harshly and with vicious glee.

As she pondered these dreadful ideas she lost track of time. She had no idea how much time had passed when she heard Yukari exclaim in her loud and enthusiastic voice once more.

"Look at all the snow!"

They had been traveling through snow for more than a minute now but it was very true that the sheer amount had increased dramatically, and it was also blowing nearby too, horizontally. It was also noticeably colder than before.

"Snowblowers? Really? For you all isn't that kind of like…cheating?"

Tsurara shot the snickering succubus beside her a disparaging look before cocking her eyebrow imperiously at the younger vampire girl's impertinence in asking such a silly question.

"Snowmaking machines, not blowers, and no, it most certainly is not cheating."

She waved her hand around delicately at the world outside the Bus's windows as she continued.

"The ambient temperature under our barrier is significantly lower than the same outside of it, which is a natural side effect of our barrier's construction. So using snowmaking machines in correct temperatures is relatively easy, requiring only water and electricity."

She continued to lecture them on the topic in a rather professorial tone that only an expert would use with novices.

"What would be difficult is trying to use our natural snow producing abilities to entirely cover our slopes in fine, high-quality powder. Our natural abilities do require significant energy reserves from our bodies in order to work. Even if the entire snow village residents gathered together to produce the snow, we'd be lucky to have the same amount as these machines produce on just one of our slopes by season open, and we have over thirty slopes divided between twelve separate lodges to cover in the next two months."

By this point Kokoa's notoriously short attention span had kicked in as Tsurara's education of the ignorant young vampire began to prove pointless, but since others were still interested her daughter brought up another point.

"Not to mention the physical toll it would have on our bodies."

Yukari seemed duly impressed even if Kokoa wasn't.

"Ski season here begins in October?"

With some pride seeping into her voice, Mizore answered.

"Near October 1st and ends around April 30th. First to open, last to close. We pride ourselves on that, and the result is there is a lot to accomplish much more quickly for us between May and September than lesser ski resorts elsewhere."

She sounded rather smug when she mentioned "lesser" ski resorts. Her mother exchanged a smug looking nod of approval with her equally proud daughter. The Shirayuki family clearly would not be outdone in matters related to snow.

"We're here! Thank the gods!"

Ageha also seemed disinterested in her rival's uppity sounding expertise.

"Have you slowed down in your old age?"

This snide comment was aimed at Bus Driver. Ageha, of course, was implying he had wasted time in getting there. Bus Driver only smiled back and giggled menacingly at the older succubus as he puffed out some cigar smoke and pulled around the circular drive in front of the lodge's main hall covered drop-off area, which only seemed to make her more irate with him.

The Bus came to a stop and Tsurara exited first followed by Ageha. As the others took their own luggage off, Bus Driver retrieved Ageha's for her. When he handed it over to her she took it roughly from him and made a rude comment that she probably didn't think the others could hear.

"Would you like a tip for that?"

This only made Bus Driver giggle at her again as if they had this as some form of usual banter between them, but it was clear that Bus Driver wasn't exactly Ageha's favorite person, and he certainly didn't seem to care what she thought of him either.

Tsurara on the other hand immediately whispered into the other woman's ear, also louder than she probably meant to.

"Why don't you show a little gratitude? How many times has he 'rescued' you now?"

Ruby wasn't entirely sure what she had meant by "rescued", but Ageha clearly understood and shot the yukionna a downright hateful look.

As if to drive her point home to her rival, Tsurara graciously bowed to him.

"Thank you for your service, as always."

They were all taken aback by her formal and gracious thanks to Bus Driver. Even he seemed, for a brief moment, stunned by it, but he quickly recovered to bow back to her.

"It's my pleasure ma'am, as always."

Ageha just leered back and forth at them in obvious irritation with both. Tsurara wasn't done yet though.

"Would you like some tea or a snack to warm yourself before heading back?"

Bus Driver briefly shot Ageha a glance, who squinted back at him as if daring him to accept the offer. Seeing her that way though brought a strange smile to his face before looking back to answer Tsurara.

"Thanks, but I'll head on back. Someone has to mind the store. The new semester starts a week from today."

He glanced with a smirk at the younger folks standing off to the side and Tsukune immediately bowed to him, which got the girls to follow his example except for Kokoa, who a split second later was also bowing with her Onee-sama's hand on the back of her head to show her how to do it.

Tsukune suddenly realized that they had become so used to Bus Driver's help that they honestly had become ungrateful for it. He resolved to try to fix that.

Tsurara also bowed again to him, putting everyone except perhaps her equally elegant daughter to shame with her perfect form and grace. It also helped she was the only one in a kimono, which accented her bow to perfection.

"Of course, again, OUR thanks, Honored One."

Only Ageha, very much perturbed by all of this, remained upright now with her arms folded defiantly and impatiently across her large bosom. Bus Driver had returned their salute to him in kind. He then quietly boarded the Bus and drove off back the way they came as they watched, except for Ageha who grabbed her rolling luggage by the handle and drug it off toward the door in a huff.

Tsurara really did pride herself on being a perfect hostess, but Tsukune could see her release a nearly imperceptible sigh of consternation as Ageha slid past her.

 _"Had she always found Ageha-san this tiring? A_ _m I only now capable of seeing it?"_

He knew his senses were now far superior to even top level yokai, so maybe seeing this now was because he could only now see it for the first time in detail.

Another detail also struck his mind now.

" _Honored One? What does that entail?"_

He knew Bus Driver's position, at least at Yokai Academy, was unique. Did that uniqueness also extend beyond the Great Barrier too?

Tsukune didn't have time to ponder that question much further now though.

"Come along children."

Tsurara moved to follow Ageha inside and they grabbed their own luggage to follow her.

As they did Ruby moved to whisper to Kurumu, but in easy earshot of Mizore and Yukari.

"What was all that about?"

The expression on Kurumu's face made it seem as if Ruby had asked her to go shovel manure.

"How should I know, I'm not her keeper?"

Mizore looked back over her shoulder to direct to add on comment at the younger succubus.

"She is your mother."

Kurumu sent her back a derisive sneer as she replied.

"So what? You know every detail of her life?"

Kurumu's head movement was indicating Mizore's own mother ahead of them. After pondering this for a moment Mizore began to reply with an earnest expression.

"…well, truthfully I..."

Kurmru, in frustration, realized her own mistake.

"Stupid question for a family of stalkers, right?"

Kurumu now wanted to end the conversation so she decided to give them her best possible guess of what was the friction between her mother and Bus Driver as they entered the lodge's main hall.

"If I had to guess, I think my grandmother had Bus Driver keep tabs on my mom for a while, and mom found out somehow, and didn't much appreciate it."

It was Yukari's turn to now weigh into the conversation.

"Why would she do that?"

In additional frustration, Kurumu wheeled back on her.

"Again, how would I…."

Tsurara's lilting voice cut off Kurumu's berating retort before it could get rolling.

"Alright, young ones. Make yourselves at home. We'll have snacks and cocoa ready in just a few."

She moved off toward some doors at the end of the main hall that led past the concessions area, but not before dragging a still smoldering Ageha along with her.

Having been here before during the ski season, they knew that that passage led back to the lodge's kitchen area.

The Shirayuki Ski Lodge was actually a full-service hotel during the season. Along with its sister yukionna-ran ski lodges on the other mountains surrounding the high plateau that hid the Yukionna Village, it also provided the main source of revenue and work for most of the village yukionna and their spouses. The yukionna here had expertly blended themselves into human society while also maintaining their relative distance from it.

When they visited last time the place had been bustling with skiers, some yokai, most human, but now it felt odd to be in the empty hall. From the windows, instead of skiers heading downslope and others riding the ski lifts back up, there were now a few snowmaking machines throwing their product downslope.

The main lodge was three stories, with the two upper floors having an open view to the lower floor. A massive stone fireplace with hearths on all three floors had a warm fire glowing in the lowest one. Wooden benches and rectangular wooden tables dominated the end closest to the concessions area while circular wooden tables and individual chairs were closer to the registration area near the front. The gang settled in around the rectangular tables.

This place could have been just at home in the Swiss Alps as the Japanese Alps. Nothing in this room indicated they were still in Asia and not Europe. Mizore had explained that was the whole point of the design, to make visitors feel like they were in Switzerland or Austria.

The service areas of the hotel, like the kitchen, were behind the concessions wall and beyond that at the back of the building was the residence where Tsurara lived and Mizore grew up in, attached directly to the back of the building. Off the back of one of the wings was a full-service spa and onsen, and behind the other wing was a heated indoor pool.

Off either side of the main lodge were the three stories of suite wings that either overlooked the Blue or Black slope runs. Each wing had thirty suites, ten to a floor, for a total of sixty suites, though Tsurara wanted to add on to both ends to expand to eighty-four suites eventually. Apparently, that was a project whose approval was being held up for internal Snow Village "political" reasons, according to Mizore.

Around the lodge and up either side of the two adjacent slopes were another sixteen individual "chalets". These were designed to be rented by family groups and had separate kitchens, bedrooms, and family areas.

The main building and its two branching wings of suites, which according to Mizore were for couples and small families, were nestled expertly in the middle of the main slope run with a pulley house next to it for the ski lift to drop people off there. The upper terminus of the ski lift brought skiers to the top of two of the three slopes. The main slope back down parallel to the ski lift track was a Blue (easy) level slope and thus the most used. The other slope you could descend from the top tracked through the woods on the mountain behind the lodge and steeply descended down and around the lodge to terminate near the bottom of the other slope where it met the lower terminus building for the ski lift. This course was a Double Black Diamond (upper expert) level slope.

The lower terminus also had another set of ski lifts to carry skiers up to the top of the third slope, which led up the mountainside opposite the one the lodge sat on. This slope was a Red (intermediate) level slope.

If viewed from above or satellite the three slopes together would form a shape similar to the roman letters "CV".

Last time they were here Tsurara informed them that she was trying to open a fourth slope that would also use the Red level upper ski lift terminus and wrap around the back of that mountain to terminate again at the lower terminus. The path had already been cleared for it and you could see the very top and very bottom of it. She was certain it would qualify as a Double Black Diamond run and believed it might even reach Triple Black Diamond status.

As proud of it as she was she had been equally frustrated that the Yukionna Village Council, who would make the call on whether to pursue opening the slope and bringing in human authorities responsible for setting the standard for its difficulty, had delayed for several seasons already. It would be the yukionna's fifth Double Black Diamond Slope, or third Triple Black Diamond Slope and apparently the yukionna that managed those other slopes had been using their influence to hold back approval for this slope, just as they were holding back the suite additions.

From what Tsurara and Mizore had said from last time about both topics, the Shirayuki Lodge had always been the most popular of the yukionna ski lodges and apparently, there were some long-held, multi-generational jealousies that were getting in the way of them getting approvals from the village council. The yukionna seemed to be a tight-knit community with most being at least partially related to each other, but like any organization or even large family, rivalries naturally occur.

Just like in his "family" right now.

"All I did was ask you a simple question. There's no need for you to enter bitch mode over it."

"Bitch mode? You have the nerve to accuse me of bitchiness after the way you acted on the ride up?"

Lost in his thoughts before, he didn't hear how this latest fracas had begun between Moka and Kurumu.

"I already apologized to Tsukune for that. That's no excuse for your behavior NOW!"

"How about apologizing to the rest of us too? We also had to put up with your rotten attitude today?"

"What does any of that have to do with you flying off the handle over a simple question?"

Tsukune also didn't remember hearing a question being asked. He wondered if they were talking about Ageha's poor treatment of Bus Driver like Ruby had asked Kurumu about outside. None of them seemed to have realized his hearing had improved dramatically as well as his other senses. He couldn't help wonder why Moka seemed oblivious to that fact though since she surely could sense things as well as he.

"A simple question that I had already answered!"

"Not to me, you didn't!"

"What does it matter how my mother acts to you anyway?"

He now turned to see Moka and Kurumu glaring at each other.

"Because she and that other one barged into our home unannounced and dragged us off here to the middle of no damn where without even asking if we wanted to be here! Is it too much to ask that she also be civil if she's going to force us to 'enjoy' her company?"

Kurumu's face contorted in anger.

"Civil? You're one to talk about being CIVIL!"

Suddenly Mizore, with a perplexed but suspicious expression, stood up beside Kurumu to also confront the vampire.

"What do you mean the middle of nowhere? This happens to be where I grew up."

"Ladies, why don't we…"

Ruby, ever the peacemaker, tried to step between them but Kurumu's venomous words to her stopped her in her tracks.

"Why don't you butt out for once?"

"Agreed! This has nothing to do with you!"

Apparently having Ruby "mind her own business" was something the three could agree on. Now it was Ruby's turn to get angry.

"Well…..I never! Talk about being uncivil!"

"Butt out of this! It's between me and her!"

Ruby was mortified by Kurumu's anger.

"And me. Where do you get off judging where I grew up, castle princess?"

Moka rounded on Mizore.

"And you can butt out too, ice princess."

Mizore's chest swelled up before pointing an accusatory finger directly in Moka's face.

"You are not the boss of me Akashiya Moka."

Kurumu immediately supported her roommate.

"Or me either! And you certainly aren't the boss of MY Tsukune-kun!"

Tsukune pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

" _Jeez, why are you dragging me into this?"_

There was nothing to be gained by bringing "ownership" of Tsukune up in this argument except driving Moka into deeper depths of anger.

"You're Tsukune-kun? The pure arrogance of you!"

Sure enough, Moka's simmering anger went to full on rage in an instant.

The previously sulking Ruby now seemed to sense impending danger and moved to quail it.

"Kurumu-chan, please calm down. There's nothing to be gained..."

The succubus was in no mode to listen to reason now.

"He's MY Mate of Fate! You're just a blood donor!"

"A BLOOD DONOR! I could rip you apart with a flick of my 'blood donor' wrist!"

As if to emphasize her point her nails began to grow and curl ominously.

"Then quit talking and do it already! You're all talk and no action! If you ever did get the nerve, he'd never forgive you for it!"

Something must have crossed Moka's thoughts then because her glaring snarl turned into a terrifyingly vicious smile.

"HA! He'd forget about you in a week!"

That was the straw that broke Kurumu's back.

"HOW DARE YOU…"

Wings ripped through the back of Kurumu's sweatshirt as her razor sharp claws stretched out for a quarter of a meter, ready for battle.

Moka, eyes glowing bright red, just continued to smile viciously at her as she encouraged her to come on with a taunting curl of her fingers.

"Bring it!"

Mizore instinctively backed away from Kurumu, but as she did so her own ice claws formed around her hands. Ruby already had her staff wand out with the purple orb glowing, ready to stop them. Just in case she failed, Tsukune shifted his weight slightly. The other day he had been faster than Moka, but adding Kurumu in now he wasn't certain he could reach them both in time if Ruby couldn't.

"SHUT UP!"

The high pitched scream emanated from a tiny form standing on the table, her star-topped wand glowing before her as she aimed it at the two potential combatants and she trembled unware in either rage or fear our both.

"ALL OF YOUR BICKERING AND WHINING IS MAKING ME SICK!"

That Yukari would do such a thing, out of all of them, had startled them all into silence.

"We're supposed to be friends, but you bicker over everything! You refuse to share!"

Without moving her wand, her surprisingly hard eyes fell on the only male present.

"And it's all because of him!"

"…..m…..me?"

Tsukune was stunned. It had been a long time since Yukari aimed any blame for anything in his direction, but she quickly refocused on Moka and Kurumu.

"So I am going to end the debate over who owns Tsukune's heart once and for ALL!"

Still in a stunned stupor beforehand, Yukari's last statement seemed like she had thrown a bucket of ice water on Ruby, who apparently sensed an even greater danger now and moved to stop her.

"Yukari-chan, what do you think you're…."

"I call forth the four winds! The North Wind! The South Wind!..."

Tendrils of what looked like magic power began to swirl around the end of the star-topped wand as if coming out of the ether around them.

"What is she doing?"

Moka's urgent question could barely reach Ruby's ears over the sudden inside thunderstorm Yukari was creating with her words.

"…..The East Wind! The West Wind!"

Ruby didn't have time to answer Moka's question as she tried to make Yukari see reason.

"Stop this right now young lady! You know better than to…"

It was no use, Yukari was set on her path and would not be dissuaded now.

"I call forth the power of the winds! Grant me your strength that I may divine the truth of this man's heart!"

"Can't you stop her?"

Ruby could only shake her head with concern warring in her expression now to answer Mizore's question.

"Not once an incantation has started!"

"I call you forth, Aono Tsukune-san!"

To his surprise, Yukari lowered the end of the swirling ether mass at the tip of her wand at him.

"Tsukune! RUN!"

Ruby's desperate plea didn't register in his mind.

"….huh?"

"RUN!"

At last, the urgency struck him and he took off, at full shinso speed, for the doorway to the front exit of the lodge.

"Obey the power of the four winds, and lay your heart bare for all to see!"

Apparently magic was still faster than his shinso abilities. A great flash of gold and violet light struck out from the end of Yukari's wand like a bolt of lightning.

"ARGGG!"

It struck Tsukune square in the back, simultaneously wrapping him in an ovoid cocoon of the same colored light.

"YUKARI!"

The other four women that loved him shrieked at her in unison, afraid for the man they all loved, but Yukari wasn't done.

"Emerge from the power of their cleansing wind, to embrace the one who holds your true heart's love and desires! Come forth, to claim the woman you love!"

Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore all replied in unison over the stunning purpose behind this spell.

"WHAT?"

Ruby though had remained strangely silent but also obviously concerned.

"What in the world is all this about?"

No one answered Tsurara's concerned question, they didn't have to. Once she emerged with a tray covered in snacks she clearly saw what had so enraptured the full attention of the girls in the room.

So did Ageha, emerging with a tray of cocoa and cups behind her.

"What the hell is THAT?"

No one answered her either, all desperate to see what had become of their beloved Tsukune.

Then they all gasped as the figure of a man stepped forth from the light.

It was Tsukune, but it also wasn't Tsukune.

His hair was silver-white. His eyes glowed ember red. His body was covered in jet black armor with red accents. Two great mammalian wings stretched forth from his back.

It was Tsukune as he had been a few nights before, at the Battle of Minato Marai.

No one, not even Moka, had time to react as the figure sailed effortlessly in the air across the room to wrap her into his arms and wings.

"My heart, as it has always been, is yours alone…"

To even her own shock he pressed his lips into hers and kissed her with deep passion. When they finally broke apart he locked red eyes with hers again.

"…..MY Moka."

"What…but….."

No one seemed to hear Yukari's terrified whisper of sudden regretful confusion."

"…..but…..Kurumu, you said….."

No one else was listening to her, lost in their own private hells now as they watched the man they loved, love another.

"I don't….I can't….it's not…..IT'S NOT HIM!"

Kurumu began to tremble too.

"I can't…..he's not real!...he's not him!...I don't feel…."

Then they heard Ageha and Tsurara suddenly gasp and all eyes turned around back to where the glowing ovoid still hung suspended right above the floor.

That's when they saw the figure of another man emerge from the light.

"Of course that impostor isn't me!"

To everyone's continued shock, and the obvious anger of vampire Tsukune with Moka still in his arms, the other figure became clear to see now.

It also was Tsukune.

"There's only one Tsukune, and he will always love his Mate of Fate, Kuru-chan, forever!"


	18. Slowly Onward Part VI

When they entered the lodge Kokoa had entered last on purpose. She also chose to sit near the front entrance on purpose, away from the others. She was still unsure if her Onee-sama was mad at her or not and decided to give her some space for now. That it also let her have space from the others, especially him, was just a bonus.

The taste of his blood from in front of the dorms the other day, and the way he had so valiantly saved her from the pain of absorbing the soldiers' bullets that night had occupied a disproportionate share of her thoughts, awake and asleep, for the last few days.

He had had a growing presence in her thoughts and dreams for some time now, much to her annoyance, but recent events had turned up her unwanted attention toward him to near unbearable levels.

Truth was his presence in her thoughts had steadily increased from the moment he had first ran into her bicycle that last April, and the "disease" inside her mind and heart only continued to have grown no matter how she tried to stop it.

She hated him, he was trying to take her just-won-back Onee-sama from her, but….

…..she didn't really hate him, far from it in fact, and that realization made her want to hate him even more, and she resented that she no longer could find it in herself to hate him properly.

" _Have I ever REALLY hated him?"_

So space was an acceptable answer for now when she couldn't muster the hate for him that he truly deserved.

Plus, it was protection.

He was indeed an "infection", and all of them, even her all-powerful Onee-sama, had the "disease".

She wouldn't allow that pestilence to take hold of her though, never.

She now could admit at least part of the truth to herself though.

She had never really hated him. From the moment she had first collided with him in the Academy Cemetery, she couldn't drive him or his amazing blood from her mind.

" _It's his crazy yummy blood! That's all! That's all it is! Nothing else! NOTHING!"_

For the better part of her first year at Yokai Academy, that constant self-proclamation had been enough to hold his effects on her at bay.

"… _..but after Minato Mirai….."_

She worked to bury these errant and useless thoughts, luckily the feckless females that tried to seduce her Onee-sama's blood bank away usually could provide a distraction, and now they did not disappoint.

Having segregated herself from the others, she had a ring side seat to the latest drama unfolding between them all.

The sudden involvement of magic was particularly interesting to her.

Then… "HE"….stepped out of that magic portal.

HER…Tsukune.

" _What the hell you idiot! You don't have a Tsukune! You hate him! Hate HIM!"_

Every vampire girls' wet dream made delicious flesh and muscle and blood.

He was exactly as he had been the other night when he stepped boldly between her and harm's way. Silver hair, penetrating red eyes, oozing shinso power from his every pour. Moving gracefully and effortlessly like a dream through her mind and warming nether regions.

" _IDIOT! STOP IT!"_

She could feel the "heat" boiling up inside as she watched him, and then the sudden pain of rage and jealousy when he took her in his arms, proclaimed his devotion to her, and locked mouths with her.

"… _..Onee-sama…."_

Kokoa could feel the salvia watering her mouth and her tongue race across her lips just thinking about how delicious he'd smell and taste. She quivered inside with the desire to plunge her fangs into his neck, and with the desire to feel his fangs penetrate her neck, and elsewhere too…

" _STOP IT! STOP IT! HE'S ONEE-SAMA'S! He belongs to Onee-sama….."_

She hated that it hurt to say it though, even in the safety of her own mind. She hated that she would gladly hurt her beloved Onee-sama, for just one moment with…him.

" _Idiot. Such a foolish idiot."_

Before she could descend further into her despair and self-loathing…..another Tsukune appeared.

" _What the…"_

This one looked like regular old everyday Aono Tsukune. Dumpy brown hair and eyes. Nothing amazing about him at all, certainly not like the other one that now practically snarled at his sudden appearance.

He said something she couldn't hear, and only a second later this plain old Tsukune had Kurumu in his arms and was about to kiss her too.

Suddenly she was jealous of Kurumu too, despite "thinking" this Tsukune wasn't as "exciting" as the first.

"NO! You can't!"

Moka, still happily trapped in Shinso Tsukune's strong arms, slammed her flat palm down between Kurumu and "Kurumu's" Tsukune's mouths.

Then Moka suddenly pulled back without moving her hand when Kurumu's Tsukune sent her the most viscous expression possible. She had clearly never seen that face look at her with such loathing before.

Then his angry snarl reached her ears.

"Mind your own damn business, vampire."

Before Moka could react, Shinso Tsukune released her and stood face to face with his non-shinso doppelganger.

"How dare you speak to a goddess that way? I could kill you with one…"

Before that fight could escalate to violence, another Succubus found her voice.

"Why the hell not?"

They all turned in sudden shock at Ageha's angry sounding question to Moka.

"You just made out with THAT one!"

Her accusatory finger leveled at Shinso Tsukune, who now snarled back at her.

Moka wasn't put off by the older woman's indignation though.

"You know damn well why she can't kiss him!"

Ageha's eyes widened at this response. Sudden realization flashed with her wordless gaze at her daughter still held tight by her own Tsukune. Ageha clearly was not happy that Kurumu's friends apparently all knew about the mate of fate bond, but she quickly recovered and directed a sneering response to Moka.

"What's wrong vampire girl? Afraid to know the truth? Just one kiss can answer all….."

Yukari's excited voice from atop the table cut her off as she pointed excitedly back to where the purple-gold orb still hung in the air.

"Someone else is coming out of the orb!"

All eyes again looked in that direction, when a figure not much taller than Yukari stepped out, and ran for the witch in question.

"YUKARI-CHAN!"

The pre-teen boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes leapt up a chair and onto the table effortlessly before wrapping the now super-excited younger witch in his arms.

"Oh…my…..goddess…."

Tsurara and Ageha both exclaimed this at the same time, clearly stunned by what they just had witnessed. All the other girls were equally excited, but the two "teen" Tsukune's looked at the younger boy as if he smelled of manure.

Ruby was the first of the younger ladies to speak up, clearly enamored of the boy on sight.

"….He's so….."

"…adorable!"

Kurumu, was equally excited, to her own Tsukune's obvious annoyance.

"A younger….Tsukune!"

Moka couldn't hold back the slight squeak of excitement when she said his name, prompting Shinso Tsukune to move to partially block her view of the younger version of the young man she loved.

Mizore added in her own version of excitement.

"I want one."

"Me too."

Said her mother and Ageha, again in surprisingly harmonious synchronization.

Yukari was being smothered in the "younger" Tsukune's kisses, and loving every minute of it.

"You let him kiss HER!"

Ageha's taunting words drew a slight look of irritation from Moka, but then another new arrival distracted them all again.

A loud smacking sound echoed through the hall as Ruby suddenly jumped forward, thrusting her pelvis outward in an awkward way, as if she had just been stung by a bee on her backside. When she turned back around to see who had slapped her hard across her buttocks, only the smiling face of Aono Tsukune looked back at her in mirth.

Then he spoke, but the words were as odd for Tsukune as his rebuke of Moka on the Bus earlier had been.

"Someone's been a naughty girl, hasn't she?"

He moved fast to grab Ruby around the waist, but he also pulled one of her ponytails down forcefully, clearly causing Ruby some discomfort.

Much to everyone's mutual surprise, Ruby started breathing heavy and smiling oddly.

"Ha…have I?"

He jerked her hair a bit more then, to her obvious delight, and smiled viciously down at her, their faces and lips nearly touching.

"Yes you have been a very naughty girl, and you deserve to be punished, don't you?"

Ruby quivered in his embrace, clearly excited by his "forcefulness" with her.

"Ye…yes, YES!...master."

"What the hell?"

Ageha's slightly disgusted but also slightly intrigued sounding question and expression made them all break out of watching that latest drama with perverted interest.

Tsurara covered her mouth and blushing cheeks as she replied in surprised excitement.

"Ara! Ara! Another one?"

Shinso Tsukune dismissed this latest one, who like Kurumu's also looked just like plain Tsukune.

"Just another imposture. Like that one, and that midget over there."

Young Tsukune, still holding a delightfully stunned Yukari in one arm, leveled a sneer of his own at Moka's Tsukune

"Who are you calling midget, 'bat'-boy?"

Kurumu and her Tsukune both snickered at this, much to Shinso Tsukune's continued anger. Kurumu's Tsukune then sneered back at him as well.

"Hehe! 'Bat'-boy, now that's funny."

Shinso Tsukune's pointing finger flew so fast in the other one's direction that he and Kurumu both flinched in response.

"You're insolence before a goddess is unforgivable! You shall be punished to my lady Moka's satisfaction."

To Ruby's own shock, her Tsukune began to pile on against Moka.

"Nothing can satisfy that frigid vampire."

Moka was too stunned by this unprovoked verbal assault on her to respond, but Young Tsukune now threw out his own "recommendation" to solve "his" current problems.

"Why don't you all go fly away so I and my Yukari-chan can be alone?"

Kurumu's Tsukune just sneered back at him.

"Stupid boy."

"You're all just a bunch of stupid boys, who clearly need some discipline."

Ruby's Tsukune held out his hand toward her.

"Ruby, Belmont. Now."

"Ye…..yes, my Lord."

She seemed to be in a near trance-like state as she reached into a suddenly appearing pool of light beside her, and pulled out a whip, handing it meekly over to her "master".

Once in hand, thus Tsukune smiled down on the whip with satisfaction, then unfurled it and with a sudden arm motion a loud crack reached every corner of the main hall.

"Now….I shall instruct you plebeians on proper manners."

Shinso Tsukune, with his own viscous smile, stepped forward to face this challenger with obvious glee.

"I was hoping you'd come first, freak."

"Sadist" Tsukune cracked the whip again, apparently waking Ruby up from her stupor. It was clear by the terror on her face she realized her mistake instantly in giving him that powerful magical weapon.

"You're one to call others 'freak' bat-boy."

Shinso Tsukune though seemed eager to fight his opposite.

"I shall give my Lady your head, in homage to her superiority over all these other trollops."

All the while as this "Tsukune" fight was developing, Mizore's eyes never left the purple-gold orb of light. Her mother also now looked on from nearby, more concerned that her daughter's Tsukune hadn't come out than the potential property and bodily damage that was about to begin.

As the anger behind her swelled to near fever pitch, Mizore remained proverbially frozen before the glowing light. As the seconds ticked away, she could feel tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

She suddenly reached up to cover her heart, as the pain and despair began to overtake her.

"But Kurumu said…"

Her whispered words of sadness couldn't even reach her own ears over the shouts of the brewing conflict.

First one tear fell, then another.

Tsurara, equally oblivious to all but her daughter's pain now, began to move forward to comfort her, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.

A finger touching her face broke Mizore from her misery.

"Even in sadness, you are still the most exquisitely beautiful woman in the world."

His familiar voice gentle and reassuring, Mizore turned to see the face of the man she loved looking down at her with a single one of her tears balanced delicately on his fingertip.

"There is no need for your tears, my beloved. I shall wash away all your fears and doubts with my love and devotion for you."

Mizore, suddenly overcome with joy, reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, then implanted her lips on his in a passionate kiss.

The sudden appearance of the fifth Tsukune, who also looked just like Kurumu's and Ruby's Tsukunes, had stopped the impending battle in its tracks as everyone looked on in awe and consternation.

Tsurara let out an audible sigh of relief, and then two great swaths of ice emanated from her now outstretched hands and slammed Ruby's Tsukune and Shinso Tsukune against the wall with considerable force, Ruby's Tsukune dropping Belmont in the impact.

Shinso Tsukune, of course, was furious.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE IN VAMPIRE AFFAIRS!"

Sadist Tsukune was quite a bit calmer, but his voice contained an uncomfortable undercurrent of menace to it too.

"I have to agree with this uncouth lout. This is none of your concern, snow woman."

Tsurara giggled and covered her mouth as she looked at the two now ensconced against the wall in ice cocoons.

"Ara, ara! None of my concern? Perhaps you two have no idea where you are but this is my home, and you two behaving like fools in it is most assuredly my concern."

She then smiled back at a still stupefied looking Ruby.

"Ruby dear, if you would."

Her eyes indicated where Belmont rested on the floor in front of Sadist Tsukune. After a moment to register the request in her mind, Ruby awkwardly stepped up and bent over to pick up the magical whip, but stopped to send an apologetic look up at her Tsukune, who had a disapproving look back for her on his face.

"…sorry, master."

She quickly snatched it up and pushed it back into the dimensional portal from where she had retrieved it as Tsurara spoke up again.

"No more… 'implements', deathly or otherwise while you are here."

This was said for Ruby's benefit as much as Sadist Tsukune's. Tsurara now turned to face Shinso Tsukune.

"And no more battles of any kind, but especially those 'to the death', or some of you will have to be expelled from here, without your beloved one."

Neither looked contrite in the least and it even seemed that Shinso Tsukune was trying to break the ice off from around him. Luckily Tsurara had made the gaps so tight he couldn't move inside at all to build up the ice shattering strength he'd need to do so.

"Do we understand each other, boys?"

This time her voice was both forceful and authoritative. "Boys" even contained the tone of rebuke an adult aimed at a small child. Neither Tsukune missed the rebuke nor the insult to their "manliness" implicitly attached to it. After a few moments, both belligerent young men reluctantly nodded their agreement to her terms.

"That, goes for all of you."

Kurumu and Yukari's Tsukunes nodded much more quickly than the other two had. They also answered together.

"Yes…..ma'am."

The fifth Tsukune, her own Mizore's Tsukune, stepped up before her with Mizore happily nestled into his right side. He smiled down at his beloved's mother, seemingly melting her anger irritation with his warm smile.

"Rest assured, you can depend on me to obey you with every fiber of my being…."

With his free left arm he took her hand in his and kissed it, causing the mother to blush as much as the daughter had from the earlier mouth on mouth kiss they had shared.

Then he smoothly directed his eyes upward to meet her own once more.

"…mother."

Tsurara looked as if she might faint for a moment then she exclaimed as she waved a hand toward her face to cool herself off.

"Ara, ara! Tsukune-kun."

She looped her right arm in his left arm and he walked her and Mizore back toward the others. As they passed the two frozen to the wall the ice around them melted and they dropped to their feet. After exchanging menacing glares that contained the promise to finish this fight between them as soon as they could, Sadist Tsukune turned and sent a half-whispered insult to Mizore's Tsukune.

"Kiss ass."

Looking back over his shoulder, Mizore's Tsukune only sent him back an irritatingly smug smile of satisfaction.

" _What in the hell has that stupid kiddy witch gone and done now?"_

That was the first question Kokoa had asked herself when the second Tsukune had showed up.

Now there were five of them.

Five of…..HIM.

" _What a nightmare!"_

It was one thing to watch those four fawn all over her Onee-sama's blood donor like wild animals in heat, but now there was one for each of them too?

This trip had already been shaking up to be miserable for her, but now it would just be completely retched.

However, from her slightly obscured observation location near the front entrance, with the glowing magic orb dispensing Tsukunes like candy obliquely between her and the others, she now watched the purple-gold light dance around the "skin" of that magical portal, and something inside her…

….hurt.

She couldn't take her eyes off it now that the other drama had calmed down a little.

Voices, concerned and angry, still reached her ears; but she didn't process the words in her mind.

That glowing orb had transfixed her attention to it, and she now could feel its pull on her, as if beckoning her to enter it, and find out what lay inside it that belonged only to her.

Had it been dark out and no other lights on inside, that orb would have been blindingly brilliant, but in the clouded over sunlight from the main hall's panoramic windows and ceiling lights it seemed to barely give off any light at all.

Lost in their own concerns and arguments, all the others in the main hall now paid the magic orb no heed.

Kokoa wished she could ignore it too, but it had grabbed her attention fully, and wouldn't let her go.

It seemed to hold so much promise, and dread at the same time for her. Had it not dispensed all its "candy" now? If so, why was it here still, taunting her?

What if another one of HIM….came out?

Who would that Tsukune belong to?

An answer that she would dread to learn, and one she would dread not to learn in equal measures.

She feared another one of HIM walking out, because if he were her's, then everything other than him she loved and desired in this world would be lost to her forever. Especially the love and respect of her Onee-sama.

Her beloved Onee-sama could never possibly forgive her for taking a piece of his love from her, and Kokoa wouldn't blame her for her hatred one bit.

She would be the worst sister possible if that ever happened.

In her secret heart though, she knew that if that portal closed now without another him stepping forth, something inside her would also die forever with that light extinguishing.

" _It's just better to let that part of you die anyway."_

Then a small voice inside her spoke up to her in protest.

" _Is there no….'candy', for me?"_

As if to answer that question, the orb suddenly faded and died.

Only she saw it, and only she seemed to care.

Having been so locked into it with her eyes and senses, she now had to let her sight adjust to its sudden loss.

Her eyes weren't the only part of her that had to adjust to sudden "loss" either.

She felt tears on her cheeks, and she hated them.

"… _..Idiot girl."_

She had never had anything to lose in the first place, so why cry now?

" _So stupid…and silly. So very silly."_

The tears didn't listen to her chastisement though, and for once she was glad that everyone, especially her Onee-sama, was ignoring her.

The dying light of the orb hadn't affected her hearing though, and the sudden sound of the front automatic doors sliding open and closed behind her broke her free from her sorrow for a moment.

Her eyes then finally joined her other finely honed vampire senses as she stood to look back through the entrance area at the now closed automatic doors. Her senses told her no one was there now, but they had been just moments before.

She reached into her coat pocket and removed her most trusted ally from it where he nestled comfortably in her body heat.

He was groggy from sleep and heat and clearly found the relatively cool air of the main hall much less desirable than that of her coat pocket. In search of the body heat he had just been reluctantly ripped away from he tried to wrap his wings around her fist.

"Ko-buddy, track."

He was too obedient to his master's commands to disobey one now, and flew off her hand in the direction she pointed. A second later his small body covered the sensor for the automatic doors, and the second they parted he dropped down and flew out before they could close again.

Kokoa directed one last look over her shoulder to make sure none of the others were watching her, only to see her Onee-sama again embroiled in the middle of a war of words between all the others.

Satisfied that she would not been seen leaving, she moved off back outside after Ko-buddy.

Once the cold air hit her again, she instantly felt companionship with her initially reluctant bat.

The immediate area around the entrance portico and circular drive were snow free. She initially thought she'd have to wait for Ko-buddy's initial sonar beacon in order to head off in the correct direction, but the slightest familiar scent reached her olfactory sensors.

" _That yummy blood!"_

The tiny glimmer of hope she felt when she first heard the automatic doors open now began to bloom inside her heart.

Her head turned right and she looked up past the parking lot and suite wings to where the Double Black Diamond slope curved back up the mountain and behind the suites and chalets and trees beyond.

She saw nothing but began moving that way fast.

Whatever had exited the main hall was fast too, or else she would have seen them ascending up the slope.

To confirm her superior directional senses, the slight sound of Ko-Buddy's chirps from up ahead reached her. When she finally reached the snow line, she saw the first boot impression. It was significantly bigger than her shoe size.

" _Male….."_

The next boot print was more than three meters away from the first, and that pattern continued up the slope. The extreme distance confirmed that the person was definitely yokai. No human could be that fast with such a wide stride.

Ko-buddy let out another sonic burst. Kokoa knew by the fluctuations in it that he had found the target, and that it had stopped moving.

Kokoa decided to take her time and followed the tracks upward and around the bend.

Even though she was using a faster stride than a normal human could ever hope, this was the most difficult slope that was open at this ski resort, and the trek up took her nearly twenty minutes at her now regular pace.

" _Couldn't pick the damn Blue slope?"_

She was tired when she approached the top, and then became angry as she realized from Ko-buddy's clicks that her mystery target was at the top of the mountain where the ski lift terminus was that the Double Black Diamond shared with the much easier Blue slope.

She nearly kicked herself in anger.

" _Damn it, I could have used the Blue slope!"_

She could just see the brown box shaped building up ahead that was the upper ski lift terminus. Unlike in winter, the roof angles weren't covered in snow now, but the snow making machines had done their work well all around its base. Everything was white except for the muted green/grays of the evergreens and the brown of the building up ahead.

A tiny dark brown figure dropped from the trees on her right and fluttered down to land on her now outstretched hand.

When he was settled she tucked Ko-buddy into his pocket again while praising him with a whisper.

"Good job, Ko-buddy."

From a pocket on the other side of her coat that he sometimes tried to unsuccessfully to sneak into she pulled out some treats and dropped them down into his pocket. His eager convulsions as he swiftly gobbled them down soon subsided as he finished them and tried to get back to sleep once again in her body heat.

His returning to her now let her know that their target was nearby.

The top of the ski lift building was bathed in warm orange sunlight that you could only get from a sunset. Had this been a lonely mountain it might well be one of the first places in all Japan to see a sunrise, and the last to see a sunset, but this mountain was surrounded by many taller brothers in a chain that stretched along the great spine of the island of Honshu. Sunrise would be later here than elsewhere because the mountains to the east would hold it off longer, and the opposite would be true in the west, with the mountains there bringing night on here much quicker than it should, even in the longer days of summer.

Unlike the ornate ski lift drop off building directly attached to the even more impressive resort building that it matched in style, the upper and lower ski lift terminuses were purely functional in nature, constructed of wood and stone.

In addition to the mechanics of the ski lift and the drop off area it also had a men's and women's restroom, a small concessions area on the west side of the structure, and some sitting areas to eat and drink the concession's available items at before heading back down either of the two slopes that started here.

Kokoa remembered from their visit the winter before that this sitting area was popular at sunset with the visitors and was often crowded with them, especially couples, who wanted to see the impressive sunset between the neighboring mountains to the west before beginning their first night ski runs.

The other Moka and Tsukune had come up here to see it then too.

She hadn't come back at sunset herself during that first visit, but seeing it now made her regret that choice greatly.

" _So….beautiful."_

The golden orb of the sun now looked like it was hovering between two mountains, suspended by them, as if they refused to let it retire for the evening.

The orange-gold light warmed her body instantly when she emerged from the tree shadows, a thin reminder that for most the rest of the northern hemisphere this was still the last golden days of summer.

On beaches across the nation now the last frolickers of the day still probably had another hour or so before seeing the sun dip below the western seas.

She had been the most disappointed of the girls when Tsukune had told them he refused the boys' offer to go back to the Seaside Motel, even if it meant having to deal with those shameless perverts.

" _Who goes to a ski resort in August anyway?"_

Still, maybe this beautiful sunset had made it at least partially worthwhile to come here.

"So Beautiful."

"Yes,…..it is."

She had seen him sitting on a bench facing west, his coated upper body covered in that golden sunlight, even before she saw the sunset herself. She had slowly approached him from the side, and they had stayed there in silence for a few moments, he seated on the bench and her standing beside it, both admiring the glory of creation in their own way, silently, but together.

A small part of that hope that had built inside her had died when he didn't run to her in joy at her sudden appearance.

" _It's for the best….."_

She knew, without him saying a word that this Tuskune wasn't for her.

The tears streaming down his face told the whole story.

" _Of course he's not for you, idiot. Foolish, stupid idiot girl."_

This Tsukune clearly belonged…..

…to HER.

"Was this…."

She awkwardly started her conversation with him, trying to find the right words. It was hard to brooch this particular topic with him because it would be painful for him no matter how she approached it.

"….did you, and…."

He apparently knew exactly the person Kokoa couldn't bring herself to name out loud in his presence was.

"Yes."

Despite his tears, his voice sounded rather warm, like a wonderful memory had occupied his thoughts in that moment.

She decided to sit down now and took the place beside him on the bench to his left. After another long pause, with both watching the sun begin to settle into the crack formed by the two mountains to the west, she awkwardly continued the touchy subject with him.

"I can see why this would be a…."

From the corner of her eyes she saw a warm smile form between the tear streaks on his face, the orange sunlight giving him a strange but beautiful glow to his wet face. The strangeness of it brought up an image of rain falling in bright sunlight to her mind.

"Yes. Yes it is."

You could now actually see the sun moving lower between the profiles of the two western mountains. The golden-orange orb was now shaped like a pie wedge.

Then it was suddenly gone.

It had been magnificent to behold, and she was glad to have seen it, despite the twinge of pain that seemingly would forever reside in her heart now.

A sudden chill hit Kokoa's exposed neck and face causing her to involuntarily shivered. Only now that the warm sunlight was gone did she realize there was a cold wind in the air.

They could have sat there watching that sunset for mere moments, or it could have been the better part of an hour. She suddenly felt disoriented by her own lost time tracking ability in that ethereal moment.

Then she heard his voice beside her again.

"Do you think they saw me?"

She paused for a moment of reflection before giving him her now certain answer.

"No, I was the only one. I'm certain."

His smile was sadder now as he nodded his head.

"…good."

Before she could ask him why he'd say such a confusing thing to her, he answered her yet unspoken question.

"I'd hate to ruin things for the other girls."

Now she was more confused. How could he ruin things for Onee-sama and the rest? Then it occurred to her. He was the other Moka's, the dead Moka's, or was it Akasha-sama's…

….Tsukune.

That would at the very least be awkward for the other girls, especially Onee-sama.

"You seem to be the only one who seems to care about the….'other' girls."

This made him smile again before he replied.

"I'm sure they care, just maybe the love for the one girl is getting in the way of them thinking straight."

For someone she had assumed emerged from the magic orb last and took off immediately, he seemed to be strangely knowledgeable about the odd situation they were all in.

"So….do you know why this happened?"

When he didn't respond immediately she clarified her question further.

"I mean, a lot of…Tsukunes?"

He shrugged as he kept looking off to the west were the sky was still bright blue and orange.

"Anything I would guess would be wrong, so it's pointless to try."

His look became more amused as he continued.

"I'm sure Yukari-chan will have the answer."

Kokoa twisted her lips up in agitated response to that answer.

"She's an idiot, do recklessly do such a thing."

She then elaborated on thoughts a bit more with clear agitation in her tone.

"Who would do THIS, on purpose?"

This made the still tear stained face of the young man beside her actually produce a chuckle.

"Yukari-chan would."

Her mind couldn't help but think that she loved it when she heard him laugh. It was a wonderful laugh. Not overbearing, but not underwhelming either. It was a perfect laugh.

She added on with irritation in her voice.

"…..obviously."

He now turned his smile onto her at last. He had a really amazing way of making you feel like you were the only person in the world when you had a direct conversation with him. Especially with his use of eye contact. He was so good at making you feel….special.

"… _and his…laugh…STOP IT!"_

He smiled more brightly at her then and she realized her skin must have flushed in embarrassment. She was only glad he didn't have mind reading abilities, but since becoming a shinso only days before, maybe he did have that ability too. This assumption only made her blush more. Normally she'd verbally strike out at him to cover her awkwardness around him, but in his current state, she didn't feel that was a good option.

"What are you doing?"

Lost in her own thoughts, he suddenly standing up brought her rudely back to this moment around them. She watched perplexed by his motives as he stepped up toward the split-rail fence that marked the sitting area around the ski lift building off from a rather nasty drop off a few meters beyond that fence. It wasn't a sheer cliff face over there, but it was steep and rocky with lots of tall conifer trees that would make the seventy or eighty meter drop life threatening to humans, and physically damaging to even the heartiest of yokai species.

She watched in some concern as he stopped at the fence and seemed to stair off into the gathering night darkness at something that seemed to be calling him onward.

She had a terrible sense of dread come over her then, as if someone had walked over her grave.

Then her eyes saw the footprints beyond the fence line, and she realized that before she had arrived here he had at the very least stood at that dangerous edge.

"HEY!"

She was on her feet now and ready to move if he made her try to stop him.

To her surprise he looked back at her with a stunned expression, as if he had forgotten she was even here.

"I'm…..sorry."

He did seem genuinely sorry he had caused her additional concern. He also looked deeply embarrassed.

She didn't want to make that tense moment between them any more embarrassing for him than it already was and tried to give him a face-saving out.

"It's okay, but we don't know just how much of that shinso ability YOU have right now."

When he seemed confused by her response, she added on more details.

"So now is no time to go testing your abilities, right?"

He awkwardly nodded as he responded.

"As you say."

He then slowly walked back over and they both sat down again.

Now without the sunset to watch the silence became fraught with concerns and strangeness for them both.

"Think you could keep me a secret, till it's over?"

He broke the silence first, with an odd question for her.

"Till what's over?"

He smiled shyly at her as he awkwardly tried to answer.

"Till….THIS, all the separate…..'me's are…..over?"

That thought brought a horrifying thought to her head, which she stupidly blurted out.

"Hell, what if it never ends? Yukari might be an idiot but she's a powerful witch. What if separate you's are…..well…."

He gave her a wry grin before finishing her question for her.

"Permanent?"

She nodded back and waited for him to respond.

"I can't explain why, but I know this is just temporary."

Seeing her suspicious look, he elaborated further for her.

"I'm not…..whole, somehow. I can feel them…the other me's."

She could see the look of confusion on his face, even though he seemed certain of what he was saying to her.

"I just know….this is just for a short time."

She had to ask him now, even if she knew it was a stupid question he couldn't possibly answer.

"How long?"

He gave her another shrug then.

"That….I don't know. Maybe Yukari….."

The look on her face that said she clearly thought Yukari wouldn't know how long either made him stop before finishing his statement.

She decided to get back to his odd request.

"So even if this is temporary, how am I supposed to keep you a secret?"

He didn't answer her directly at first.

"I thought about going to visit my family, with each of the girls having her own 'me', they wouldn't even need to know about 'this' me and that I had taken off on them; but after everything that has happened the last few days, having me suddenly disappear out of nowhere might be too much for my folks to deal with, even if I told them it might happen up front."

A valid concern in this case. There was no idea what would happen to just this one "part" of Tsukune when the spell making six separate Tsukunes finally wears off.

Tsukune then provided two potential solutions.

"Well, maybe Tsurara-san will let me stay in one of the chalets, or perhaps Bus Driver can just take me back home? No need for the girls to know about me till it's all over, right?"

Kokoa gravely shook her head back and forth after pondering these two options for a brief moment.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable with either option. They both require me to lie to my Onee-sama. I'm sorry but I don't think your presence will be disruptive enough to warrant deceiving the others over it, especially her."

That was at least partially the truth. Left unsaid was that the majority of her concern now focused on whether this particular Tsukune, completely devoted to a now dead love, would try to see if he could join her on the "other side". The look of mesmerized determination and resolution he had at the split-rail fence moments before disturbed her greatly. Assuming he could die, because this version of him could be nothing more than a simple human, there was no telling how losing this part of the overall Tsukune personality would affect him as a person when they remerged.

She knew her Onee-sama wouldn't want that.

SHE didn't want that either.

She somehow had to convince her Onee-sama to let her watch over this one without drawing her suspicions. She knew for certain he couldn't be left to his own devices.

Her negative answer seemingly took the spine out of his back. He slumped down now in near misery.

"I think you underestimate how much my presence will incite the other versions of me."

She sent him an odd expression back.

"What?"

He tried to clear up her confusion.

"The other Tsukunes will NOT be happy to see me. Not at all. I'm certain of it."

She surprised him by letting out a derisive snort before answering with her usual bravado.

"Well who gives a damn about that?"

"Well….I…"

He didn't have a response to that, or at least he couldn't find the words to express himself. Either way, Kokoa wasn't concerned about the responses of the other versions of him in the least.

"I'll beat their asses if I have to, so that's no real concern at all."

This typical Kokoa-like response seemed to brighten him up a little.

"I'm sure they wouldn't dare to cross you. I know I wouldn't."

She smugly nodded agreement at his wisdom in this case.

They sat there a few moments more in silence. The still blue part of the sky continued to shrink before the band of purple that separated the day from the black sky of night. Behind them the first stars in the east were winking into vision.

"Now, let's head back."

She stood to emphasize her sudden proclamation of intent.

"If it's all the same, I'd like to stay here a little longer."

He clearly wasn't ready to abandon this spot that had been so memorable to both he and his departed Moka-chan.

"Unacceptable!"

Her blunt statement stunned him.

"…..huh?"

He clearly had been expecting her to acquiesce to the perfectly understandable request he had just made.

She looked down on him with a firmness to her that he had only seen before when she was in a fight, but somehow there was a tenderness to her look and words as well.

"Listen to me, and listen well. There is nothing up here that you need."

She then leaned over and put both her hands on his shoulders giving him a gentle shake.

"Absolutely NOTHING!"

He took in a deep breath as she pulled back away from him again.

"It's time to move forward, and right now that's heading back to the lodge, because it's freezing up here! I need a hot beverage."

He was obviously surprised to see her hand outstretched to him now. She hoped beyond hope he couldn't see just how much she wanted him to take her hand, for multiple reasons.

"Now, come on. It's time to go."

After a moment of silence that seemed to awkwardly stretch for eternity, he finally spoke up.

"Yes, ma'am."

She involuntarily sighed when he took her hand. Even she couldn't say whether it was a sigh of relief or something more.

No, despite her internal admonitions to the contrary, it was definitely more to her than just concern for him.

Much more.

She pulled him up from the bench, but when she tried to let go he wouldn't let her.

She then turned away from his smile to hide her true thoughts from him, but his eyes also fell on his footprints beyond the split-rail fence line, and his mood darkened.

See those tracks to the edge, she resolved to force him into a position where he wouldn't do such foolish things again.

"Promise me."

He turned to look at her.

"No more…. 'testing' your shinso abilities while you're not 'whole', agreed?"

She was still embarrassed to be holding his hand, so she couldn't look at him directly but she saw him meekly nod agreement."

"I want YOUR WORD!"

That meek nod wasn't enough for her, but he quickly understood.

"You have…..my word."

She nodded imperiously still not looking directly at him.

"GOOD!"

They walked down the Blue slope holding hands.

They held hands all the way to the entrance of the lodge.

She couldn't fathom his motivations for doing this with her.

Maybe he thought she could see better or knew the way better than he did. Maybe he was just sad and needed someone to make him feel better. He clearly was still miserable even with that unconvincing fake smile of his. Was that part of what he got from the "main" Tsukune, or could all six make that too obviously fake smile of reassurance?

For her part she kept telling herself all the way down the slope that it meant nothing to him, and especially her.

It was a pleasant lie. One that helped protect her heart from things she could never hope to attain. She could live with this lie, for now at least.

There had been no Tsukune for her.

That was what had been expected and that was all for the best.

Not in a million years would she ever do anything to hurt her beloved Onee-sama.

Tsukune, the REAL Tsukune, was Onee-sama's to do with as she pleased.

She told herself that that larger hand holding hers was just for mutual warmth, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't deny that it felt amazing nestled inside her own hand.

Much nicer than body heat alone could ever hope to account for.

* * *

"So let me get this straight."

Tsurara sat beside Mizore who had her Tsukune beside her on her mother's left side.

"This….. 'spell' was supposed to make our Tsukune-kun be hopelessly in love with his one true love, to the point that it would have been painfully obvious to everyone who that was?"

On her right side sat Ruby and her own version of Tsukune on her own right side. Ruby looked pensively across the table but Yukari was still hiding her face from everyone. Ruby offered an answer but didn't seem overly confident about it.

"That's correct….I think."

They all looked as Yukari, who nodded without exchanging eye contact with anyone.

"But instead, we now have five Tsukunes, and they are in love with each of you?"

Ageha sat opposite Tsurara with Kurumu on her right and Kurumu's Tsukune on the end of the bench beside her daughter.

Ruby again provided her best guess for their questions.

"That…..seems to be the case."

Tsurara brightened up significantly beside her at that answer.

"Which means…."

Ageha was also getting giddy now and on the same train of thought as the senior yukionna.

"…he's in love with ALL FIVE OF YOU?"

A contrite and downtrodden looking Yukari sat opposite Ruby beside Ageha with her pre-teen Tsukune version holding her tenderly in his arms to comfort her.

Beside him on the left sat a veritable boiling cauldron of red-eyed anger glaring back at the two gloating older women in fury. On her left sat a red-eyed and silver-haired version of Tsukune who was also trying to mollify her concerns, but less successfully than the younger version of Tsukune on her right was doing with his own paramour.

"….well….."

Though her glaring eyes were looking at the two smug looking mothers, Ruby couldn't help but feel apprehension that the wrong wording from her now could make "Mount Moka" erupt at any moment.

"Don't worry my love. These fake Tsukunes mean nothing. I am the only real one and whatever vestigial concerns he may have for these others will be destroyed by the dominance of your perfection and my willpower to eliminate them."

Her silver-haired Tsukune's words seemed to have no effect on her, but Ruby's own Tsukune apparently wasn't done agitating him from their previous confrontation.

"What a bloviating blowhard. Even you paramour is ignoring your drivel."

The other Tsukunes snickered at this but before Silver-haired Tsukune could reply in fury the object of his affections cut him off.

"WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS…"

Once the attention of the room was focused solely on her, she continued in an only slightly less angry tone.

"…..if this spell was supposed to make just the one Tsukune, who was desperately in love with his ONE true love, why are we now looking at five separate Tsukunes."

To emphasize the point, she angrily swept her hand over the whole table to emphasis the stunning plurality of Tsukunes now present.

Ruby offered a hypothesis on this.

"I believe it's probably due to his shinso blood."

Moka looked confused for a moment, but before Ruby could elaborate further Ageha blurted into the conversation.

"Ara! Ara! You already have your answer dear, even if you don't like it."

One could hear Moka's teeth grind as she again directed a furious gaze at the all too pleased with herself older succubus.

Kurumu actively tried to hide her face behind her mother's body so Moka wouldn't direct her fury on her as well.

The equally self-satisfied Tsurara now weighed into the path of Moka's rage.

"Clearly our Tsukune-kun is a multi-tasker. He obviously is deeply in love with my Mizore."

Mizore couldn't hide enough of herself from Moka's glare like Kurumu had, so she turned her head away, but her own Tsukune shockingly endorsed her mother's position.

"Indeed I am…mother."

At being called "mother" by her Mizore's Tsukune once more Tsurara looked as if she had just had been the one he had confessed his love too. She took out her folding fan and began to cool herself off with it.

"What a good son you are!"

"Clearly he is in love with my Kurumu!"

The temporary cooperation suddenly at an end, Ageha redirected her indignation at her longtime rival across the table, who was too busy calming herself down to pay the irate succubus opposite her any attention.

"That's right…mother."

Like Tsurara before her, hearing Tsukune call her mother was enough to cause her to flush from internally generated "heat" as well.

"She's the only one for me."

Ageha reached with enthusiasm to lovingly stroke his cheek.

"That's MY BOY!"

Neither mother, nor neither Tsukune, seemed to sense the agitation that their warm relations had engendered in their daughters/love interests sitting between them.

"CLEARLY…."

Moka clearly didn't want them to forget how agitated she was.

"….something's…..not right here!"

Her usual confidence seemed to melt away as she looked on four "other" Tsukunes fawning on the other girls and/or their mothers.

"There's no way…..he….he could…"

If nothing else, her own Tsukune was attentive to her moods and needs, if ill equipped to know how to mollify her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders from behind.

"My love, like I already said, these others are pale shadows. I will sweep them away from existence as soon as we are back together in the same body."

She again ignored his platitudes and sent Ruby a nearly desperate sounding question.

"Are they?"

Ruby was taken off her game by the sudden sadness in Moka's voice.

"Are they what?"

"Are they going to get back together, into the one Tsukune?"

Ruby could feel the pleading in Moka's voice for a positive answer.

"YES!"

To everyone's surprise, including their own, all five Tsukunes emphatically answered in the affirmative.

Not sure what to do now, Ruby could only offer Moka a half-hearted agreement to their mutually emphatic answer.

"I would assume so….."

Ruby couldn't help but send the still shattered looking Yukari a glance now that was equal parts concern and disappointment.

Yukari caught enough of that look to begin balling her eyes out and sobbing once again.

"You didn't do anything wrong Yukari-chan. Your magic is perfect, as always."

As he tried to comfort her, the youngest Tsukune sent Ruby an angry glare.

Instead of making her mad or making her feel bad she couldn't help but think how adorable pre-teen Tsukune was, even when he was mad at her. He had had a similar effect on the other girls, even Moka, in the brief time they had all been separate, much to the other "almost-adult" Tsukune's annoyance.

She suddenly felt claws digging into her right thigh…her INNER thigh.

A sudden wave of all-too pleasant "heat" swept over her.

Her own Tsukune now leaned into her right ear to whisper to her. His tone and the hotness of his breath on her neck made her swoon and become weak.

"I saw that, you are a naughty shouta-con, aren't you, you nasty woman."

He tightened his grip on her thigh as she wondered how he had snuck his hand up her skirt that high without her noticing.

" _So…..close….."_

His hand was nearly millimeters away from her…. "jade gate".

He had but to slightly readjust and…..

"You want to be punished, don't you?"

She bit her upper lip and nodded slightly, praying no one else noticed her unique…. "situation".

Then he took his hand out from under her skirt as discretely as it had went up her leg.

His hot breath on her neck made her obvious disappointment feel even worse.

"Consider that your punishment, for now."

When he pulled away she suddenly could breathe again and took a way too loud breath. Only now could she also feel the sheen of sweat that resided between her flesh and her clothes. She actively had to force herself not to take out her handkerchief to wipe her neck and forehead.

When she finally felt brave enough to look up and assess whether she had embarrassed herself in front of her friends she only saw two sets of eyes looking back at her.

Ageha's eyes were mirthfully locked onto her. She had the tip of her left pinky finger between her teeth at the side, the rest of the gap between her teeth occupied with the red tip of her tongue. The second Ruby locked eyes with her Ageha squinted playfully back at her and then knowingly sent her a wink.

Ruby felt herself flush again and rapidly turned away. She sensed that doing so almost made Ageha laugh with glee.

Turning from Ageha brought her to Moka's attention, who turned from her gaze in her own embarrassment at having just revealed in an awkward glance that she too had witnessed the other girl's…..predicament.

Before Ruby could debate whether to run away in embarrassment, the sudden sound of the front automatic doors activating brought the whole tables' attention to the far end of the main lodge.

"Where have you been?"

Moka was on her feet and staring at her oddly meek looking imouto down from the other end of the hall. The anger suddenly left Moka as she remembered how harshly she had spoken to her sister earlier that same day in a similar situation when in fact she had been angry with others.

Not wanting to repeat that mistake her tone became downright loving as she walked around the end of the table with her silver-haired Tsukune on her heels like a puppy.

"I was…..worried."

Before Kokoa could answer her sister a surprised sounding voice boomed out from behind her.

"ARA! ARA! ARA! Another Tsukune-kun!"

Ageha had seen him in the shadows behind Kokoa first, but when Moka's eyes refocused behind her sister she saw the sixth Tsukune at last as well. She wasn't the only one to gasp at the unexpected addition to this day's continuous volleys of growing surprises.

"Please forgive my intrusion."

He stepped up beside Kokoa now so they all could see him, and bowed toward them all.

Like all the rest Tsurara was now on her feet and bowed back to him before replying.

"There is nothing to forgive my dear. Come in you two and get warmed up."

"What….."

Still several meters away from him, Moka's hand drifted up as if to reach out for him as words began to tumble from her.

"Who does…"

Moka's questioning glance fell on her sister in confusion, but Kokoa turned away in sudden fear.

" _Oh God! Does she think he's mine?"_

Kokoa began to panic, so much so that the Tsukune beside her looked over in concern.

"Damn."

Everyone looked at the silver-haired Tsukune as he leered back in near rage at the newest arrival. He defensively wrapped his right arm around Moka's waist and even shifted her slightly to put himself between her and the newest Tsukune as if he might try to attack her.

Sad clarity reached her mind then and she locked eyes with the sadly smiling Tsukune beside her awkward looking sister.

Even before she spoke she already knew the answer to her question, but still, it had to be asked.

"You're….Moka-chan's Tsukune?"

He gave her a deeper smile as she finally noticed how red the whites of his eyes were. The smile never reached his sad eyes. He nodded confirmation and more women could be heard to gasp in shock and sympathy for him from behind her.

"…..you…"

She could feel the tears welling up in her own eyes now and her hand reached out toward him again but a firm grasp stopped it from going further outward to him.

Beside her she heard a deadly sounding growl proceed her own Tsukune's stunning harsh words.

"Go back outside and die like you should have."

She wasn't the only one stunned at his viciousness.

"How could you…"

"Will he never die?"

Kurumu's Tsukune stunned the table by seemingly also wanting this new Tsukune dead. Ruby's Tsukune was no better.

"Disgusting, look at him. A waste of flesh and purpose. Pathetic."

Mizore's Tsukune was only slightly less harsh.

"He's just so pointless now. So sad."

"Wait!"

Yukari's Tsukune sounded as if he might oppose the others' odd hatred for this version of Tsukune, but he then disappointed them too.

"Now's our chance!"

His excited proclamation confused the ladies, but all the men including the target seemed to understand immediately. Ruby's Tsukune was the first to speak up in support.

"The pipsqueak is right."

Kurumu's Tsukune seemed downright excited now, much to her own confusion.

"Ah! At last!"

Mizore's Tsukune then sent the sad looking newcomer a rather sympatric look.

"It's not like you want to go on this way, without her, right?"

When he just meekly shrugged back in response Kokoa went on guard at once and Ko-buddy was already forming a spiked bat shape in her hands. She stepped up in front of him and put the spiked bat across her shoulder as if she were a batter waiting from the pitcher to throw her a fast ball.

"Ah! Then it is settled."

Silver-haired Tsukune released Moka and stepped away from her, suddenly his great bat wings emerged from his back again.

Again Mizore's Tsukune had relatively kind words.

"It would be a mercy."

"Let us be done with it already."

Ruby's Tsukune was seemingly bored by all of this now and ready to have it done with.

Kokoa's defensive actions had already put all the others on alert. Moka now stepped to block her Tsukune's path.

"What are you…"

Her Tsukune called over to Moka-chan's Tsukune above Moka-san's head.

"Prepare yourself for oblivion, imposture."

A sudden silver, red and black blur spun past her. Despite her own shinso speed she could not grab him in time.

Kokoa had seen shinso speed in action already but having it come directly toward her was a whole different ball game. As she noticed the slight movement away from her at the last second though she only had time to see the extended razor sharp claws move for the other Tsukune's neck.

The Ko-buddy spiked bat on her shoulder never even had a chance to swing. Shinso Tsukune was just that much faster than she could ever hope to be.

She hated admiring him for that ability.

She only now had time to look back to where Moka-chan's Tsukune seemed frozen in time.

" _I've failed Onee-sama."_

She was there to stop Shinso Tsukune if her Onee-sama couldn't. Her Onee-sama was depending on her and she had let her down again.

" _I've failed…..him too."_

She had just enough time to see him stoically wait for the death blow.

" _So brave! I hope you find your Moka-chan on the other side."_

Then her heart dropped as that Tsukune, seemingly frozen in place like a human would be at these speeds, blinked once and then his eyes refocused on her to her own shock. His smile grew slightly and he gave her a wink as her heart seemed to drop out from under her. To the end he was still concerned for making her feel better about it all.

Shinso Tsukune's claws where millimeters from his neck.

He indeed had wanted to die. To join his beloved in the next life.

Was this truly the mercy the other Tsukune claimed it to be?

She hated him now, for wanting to die. For not giving life a chance.

For not giving her a chance to make him see how beautiful life could be, even for someone as miserable as he.

It was a weakness that was unforgivable to her, like so many she found in her own self and damned herself for having.

Even in her own mind, where she at least tried to hate him, Aono Tsukune was above such things, and that even a part of him wasn't was deeply offensive to her.

That she would have to watch him be decapitated before her own eyes filled her with dread too.

It was all about to be over, and so it was.

The next thing that registered in her mind was the shrill shrieks of seven wailing females filling the hall with the sounds of abject terror.


	19. Slowly Onward Part VII

The sounds of the other girls' screams were still echoing in her ears but the follow-up shouts and screams couldn't register inside her mind.

She was frozen there before them, her head twisted back over her right shoulder, her mouth gaping wide, and her eyes trying to match it.

What she was witnessing less than a meter from where she was now planted was too shocking for her mind to overcome in so short of a period of time.

He laid sprawled out beside her, twitching just like a dead corpse would in the throes of the final muscle spasms before death.

A pool of his blood began to form about his torso.

That the blood stained body wasn't dead was even more shocking given the speeds involved in the initial attack.

His spasms were against the pain he wouldn't let escape his mouth in natural screams for his own pride's sake.

He desperately tried to prop himself up from his face down position with his free left arm, but the pain wouldn't allow him the strength to do so.

His right lower forearm was bent back at an odd and clearly painful angle from the rest of his forearm. The blood forming on the ground was from the wound on the inside of his forearm that was created when his Radius and Ulna bones were snapped in two like balsam wood. The blood was pouring off the jagged ends of both jaggedly serrated bones.

His right wrist and upper forearm were firmly in the grasp of the other Tsukune who looked down on him with pity showing for his would be murderer in his eyes.

"I am sorry I had to hurt you."

Somewhere in the instant that he had grabbed and subsequently broke Shinso Tsukune's forearm, his opponent's wings had disappeared from his back, most likely in reaction to the unexpected sudden pain permeating his body.

Seeing him writhing in pain below him, Moka-chan's Tsukune now looked up into the terrified faces of the other four Tsukune versions.

"And though your mutual offers to 'free' me from my misery are indeed generous….."

He then gave the still stunned Kokoa a tender looking smile.

"…I'm afraid I have made promises not to act so rashly while we six our separated from one another."

He then gently let go of Shinso Tsukune's destroyed forearm. The still black and red armor-clad figure cradled the arm like a baby before leaping back from his opponent several meters. When he landed back near an equally stunned Moka he snarled back to the other Tsukune.

"How in the world did….."

Before Ageha's could finish her stunned statement she dropped silent and watched with the others as the blood that covered Shinso Tsukune's front and the floor where he had just been raced back to him and into the wound.

A second later they all took in a short breath in amazement at the sharp sound of his forearm bones popping back into place.

To his credit, Shinso Tsukune didn't flinch, but all the rest witnessing it did. Less than a few seconds later the gap in his black armor was gone, and presumably in his actual flesh beneath it as well.

"Truly…"

Moka could only look at where her Tsukune now examined his forearm beside her.

"…..remarkable."

Her apparent praise for him made him beam, but a split second later stunned and angry shouts began to fill the main hall once again.

"What in the HELL was THAT?"

"Why are you trying to kill him?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Tsukune-kun would never do that!"

The storm of vitriol built in cacophony behind her as girl after girl angrily questioned her own Tsukune and the others as they sat there sulking and taking the tongue lashings from their beloved ones.

None of that noise reached her ears though.

Her eyes, so ready to witness his death moments before, now began to moisten as she stood there as if frozen in time before his warm smile.

" _Am I….his 'prisoner' now too?"_

The feeling of pure joy that HE was still alive threatened to squeeze the tears out from Kokoa's eyes.

That warm smile, those tender eyes, it was as if she and he were the only two people in that exact moment in the entire Universe.

" _But….I hate him…"_

Then he extended his hand toward her and his voice alone reached her ears.

"Are you alright Kokoa-san?"

As if his voice had been the ram that shattered a great dam, the shouts and screams of the other now flooded into her mind as well.

It was as if she had awoken from a dream, and she suddenly jerked back from his proffered hand as if it were diseased.

"I'm perfectly fine, Idiot!"

She then quickly turned so he couldn't see her embarrassed state, but not before she saw his warm expression change to a wry smile, as if he expected her to respond so caustically to his concerns for her.

Sharp fury at him suddenly welled inside her.

" _Don't you dare think you know me, Maggot!"_

Before she could dwell further on it both of their attentions as well as everyone else present were drawn to the sound of gunfire. Ice pellets shattered on the high ceiling above them and the shards fell down on them as everyone tried to cover their heads.

When the room was silent once more and the ice shards had all fallen to the stone floor under their feet they all turned shocked eyes to where Tsurara stood just outside the concessions way door with what looked like a modified AK-74 in her hands.

"Now that I have all of your attentions….."

In her usual lady-like manner she gently placed the automatic rifle, modified to shoot ice bullets instead of metallic ones, gently on the nearest table with both hands. Only once she had relinquish it did she finish her words.

"…perhaps we can all calm down?"

Into the deathly silence her gunfire had created she moved closer to Shinso Tsukune with concern on her face. Once beside him she lifted his right arm to examine where his injury had been.

"Are you alright dear?"

He nodded with both suspicion and embarrassment warring on his face.

"Yes….ma'am."

She let it go gently and smiled warm up to him, which he awkwardly returned in kind.

"Good."

Then without missing a beat and the smile still radiating on her face she lifted both her palms toward him and blasted him with ice, causing everyone to again move back in sudden fear.

He shouted in rage as she plastered him in another ice cocoon, this time against the wood beam ceiling above them.

"I did warn you that there would be consequences for further aggressive behavior, did I not?"

The ice encased him up to his mouth, with only his ears, eyes, nose and upper head exposed. She continued speaking to him even as he glared down at her in obvious fury.

"So now, you will hang up there encased in ice till I decide you are contrite enough to be allowed your freedom of movement again."

A stunned Moka spoke to Tsurara then in deep concern.

"Did you just…."

"It's okay Moka."

Mizore spoke up for her mother then.

"That's what we call "Living" Ice. It's cold, but it won't give him hypothermia. He'll just….sit there, listening, till mother decides to let him go."

They all looked up at him literally froze to the ceiling in concern for him but also with obvious admiration for Tsurara's skill set.

"And you four did encourage him to attack…..so….."

The other four Tsukunes instantly moved backward in obvious fear of her, but it was too late. In a matter of seconds they were all plastered against the wall.

"Mother, dear, please….."

Mizore's Tsukune tried to appeal to his future mother-in-law before her ice covered his mouth. She walked over to him, his eyes still pleading with her for release. She lovingly stroked his hair and cheek as she spoke to him.

"Ara! Ara! Naughty, naughty boys need to learn their lessons."

She then moved away from him and back to the table where they had all been sitting minutes before.

"So you five naughty boys will listen quietly now, as we ladies decide what to do with you next."

She calmly retook her seat and lifted her tea cup up to her delicate lips. Once she noticed the others looking at her she spoke up again.

"Come on now. The tea and cocoas are getting cold."

Mizore sat beside her mother and the two succubi sat across from them. Ruby now joined Yukari beside the two succubi.

The three other people still free to move about in the main hall now drew their attention.

Moka-san and Moka-chan's Tsukune now looked at each other in mutual concern. Kokoa, again next to that Tsukune, was again a reluctantly close witness.

"Are you…."

"Yes….thank you."

He bowed to her and she awkwardly bowed back, neither seemingly knowing how to treat the other.

The muffled growl from above of Shinso Tsukune from the ceiling over them drew a few interested eyes upward for a moment.

"Come children, we don't have all night and it looks like we have more mouths to feed than originally expected."

They cautiously obeyed Tsurara and moved toward the table. Moka-chan's Tsukune moved to make sure a reluctant Kokoa sat between him and the "other" Moka. It wasn't done rudely, and though a small shadow crossed her face for a second, Kokoa noted her Onee-sama seemed to not be offended by the move to put distance between them.

Kokoa, on the other hand, never felt more awkward than being the "meat" in this awkwardness filled "sandwich" the other two had created.

"Now, shall we….."

"Explain this!"

Tsurara again gave a rare sigh of frustration as her "frenemy" and rival Ageha cut her words off.

Ageha aimed the sharp command downward as the twelve-year-old witch beside her, who once again began to quaver under the renewed interrogation.

Yukari began to stutter when Ruby spoke up for her.

"It's possible that….."

"I didn't ask you!"

Ageha's sharp retort made Ruby and Yukari both jump in their seats and now both witches looked properly frightened by her.

"I asked the one who did this."

Yukari tried to sink away from Ageha's accusatory finger as if she could melt through the bench.

Seeing everyone else's eyes also looking to her for answers, Yukari provided the only answer she had to give.

"I….I don't…"

She gulped nervously, then laid it all on the line in one great rushing torrent of words.

"I DON'T KNOW! It wasn't supposed to happen like this! The spell was supposed to make Tsukune-kun, the one and only Tsukune-kun, act so madly in love with the one girl he was truly in love with that for the next three days or so he'd fawn all over her! That way we'd finally know and those of us that didn't win his heart could begin to move on and quit bickering and fighting all the time! There was only supposed to be one Tsukune in and one Tsukune out! So I don't know what happened! I just don't know!"

Silence permeated the room again as everyone exchanged concerned and perplexed looks.

"So, any theories on why we have six Tsukune-kuns when this spell was only supposed to make the one madly in love Tsukune?"

Tsurara had directed the question to the other witch present, assuming her to be the resident magic expert, but Ruby's answer had a chorus of two with it.

"Shinso blood."

"SHINSO BLOOD!"

Ruby and Moka both looked across at each other, mutually surprised to have both reached the same conclusion, but where Ruby's previously calm sounding answer seemed more like she had reached this conclusion a while before and was confident in it, Moka's excited proclamation had sounded as if the idea had just hit her mind like a sledge hammer.

After another quiet moment, Tsurara again spoke up.

"How so?"

Ruby looked as if she were about to answer, but then smiled across at Moka and nodded for her to try to answer.

After a long pause, Moka said a single word.

"Clones."

While everyone else looked surprised by this, Ruby nodded again to her with a smile before speaking up as well.

"Alucard was able to make clones of himself. Such as…."

She paused with a concerned look toward the two yukionnas, who both looked as if they smelled something bad just then. Both clearly knew which of Alucard's clones Ruby was about to name next.

She reluctantly finished her statement.

"…Fujisaki Miyabi."

Both yukionna continued to look as if their mouths had fowl tastes in them.

"He probably made others too."

Ruby could only nod hesitantly to this dark assertion by Moka.

One of the powers Alucard "absorbed" on his way to becoming the world's first known shinso yokai clearly was the ability to clone himself. That Fujisaki himself didn't seem to be a shinso in his own right, at least from what they had seen of his abilities, clearly indicated that the original Alucard had the ability to also determine exactly what powers he bestowed from his awesome assortment on his individual clones that he created.

Since Akasha-sama wasn't a clone but a direct recipient of Alucard's shinso blood, the assumption was that once she had mastered it, she too could have used his full array of absorbed powers. By conclusion, that same full list of powers would, once mastered, belong to her daughter, and the shinso that Moka had also created, Aono Tsukune.

Moka's dark words also contained the hint of something none of them had wanted to bring up since the battle. While Fujisaki had remerged into the greater Alucard entity, and thus died with it, there was a distinct possibility that Alucard had left behind other copies of himself, with varying degrees of extraordinary powers, to menace the world at some future time unknown.

Luckily no one wanted to go down that particularly dark path just yet though.

"So these are all clones?"

Ageha waved her arm behind her to where four Tsukunes were plastered against the wall, listening in enforced silence.

"Is he the original, then?"

The five other Tsukune's all made mumbling sounds of protest when Ageha used her pointer finger to indicate the only currently free version of Tsukune down near the end of the table.

From his place beside Kokoa where until now he had tried his best to quietly blend into the wooden bench, Moka-chan's Tsukune could only shrug as he awkwardly tried to answer.

"I….don't think so."

Seeing their perplexed expressions looking back at him he tried to provide a better answer.

"I mean, I don't think any of us six are the… 'original' Tsukune. I know I don't feel… 'right'. Something that makes me…..well…..ME, is definitely missing."

I was Tsurara's turn to ask him a follow-up question.

"So all six could be clones?"

"Or…."

Ruby began to speak before Moka-chan's Tsukune could formulate a coherent response.

"…..all six could actually be, one sixth of our Tsukune-kun."

Wide eyes looked back at her, so she postulated her theory for them.

"Each seems to have varying degrees of Tsukune's personality traits."

She pointed to Shinso Tsukune iced into the ceiling above them.

"That one is bold, aggressive, and fearless."

She then looked to the one free Tsukune.

"That one….sensitive, thoughtful, and caring."

He blushed slightly from her words which also made her blush too, much to her own Tsukune's quiet but obvious annoyance.

Yukari, now slightly recovered from her earlier nervous state, began to make an excited statement of her own.

"It's as if each girl has a…."

"That clearly cannot be it."

Moka's vehement words, though not intended as harshness, froze Yukari in her tracks.

"Tsukune, clearly, cannot be in love with all….six of us."

Another awkward silence descended over them as Moka's emphatic belief that Tsukune couldn't love more than one of them, one in particular, brought down a chill onto everyone even Tsurara would be hard pressed to duplicate.

"That's just not…"

"Ara! Ara! Someone now lives in a state of self-delusion."

True to form, Ageha was ready to turn the knife back onto Moka where Tsukune's "love" was concerned.

She quickly found an ally across the table from her.

"Now Ageha, be nice, the poor girl needs time to recover from the shock of reality hitting her between the eyes."

Mizore tried to stop the brewing confrontation before it could explode into actual violence.

"Please Mother, Ageha-san, this isn't helpful at all."

Ruby moved quickly to redirect the conversation, if awkwardly searching for the right words to frame her own statement was proving to be a challenge under Moka's intimidating gaze.

"The six Tsukunes….."

Moka's glowing red coals for eyes drifted off the two elder women present to hit Ruby now.

"….clearly they each are….. 'attached' emotionally…in some form to one of the….."

Ruby moved to continue when Moka didn't lash out over her phrasing, only to become awkwardly aware that her next words might hurt someone else seated at the table.

"…one of the….."

Moka-chan's Tsukune gave her a weak but genuine smile.

"Six girls. It's okay Ruby-chan. You can mention….."

He took a hard swallow before continuing. The action drew all their attention to him with concerned eyes, especially Kokoa and Moka, who's brewing anger evaporated before his sad smile.

"…..Moka-chan. I'm…alright."

Indeed he at least seemed to be alright. Ruby gingerly continued her words after another smile from him.

"Alright. Clearly each Tsukune is….with each of us girls, and apparently other personality traits of his that perhaps his own subconscious associates with each of us, has also attached itself to the corresponding version of Tsukune."

Moka, who had taken a break from angrily leering to direct concern for the only male at the table, now flared again in agitation, causing Ruby to nervously skip using any word that could indicate Tsukune's emotional connection with one of the other girls.

"Just my theory."

Ruby rather meekly went silent after that, but Tsurara filled in the gap with a statement of her own.

"I suppose it will have to do."

Now Ageha had another question, this one aimed down the table to Moka-chan's Tsukune.

"So, is this…..permanent?"

After initially being thrown off by the question being directed at him, he shook his head side-to-side before replying.

"No…..ma'am."

He exchanged a brief look with Kokoa before refocusing on the senior succubus present.

"I explained this to Kokoa-san before when she asked the same question."

He took in a deep breath to steady his thoughts before continuing.

"I can't put my finger on it, but I'm certain this….these separate existences are just temporary."

Tsurara now had a question for him.

"Well then…..how long?"

He awkwardly shrugged back and then all eyes fell on the two witches. Ruby answered for her younger friend.

"The original spell was supposed to last for three, maybe four days. I can't say for certain that this particular alteration will last for the same amount of time, but usually I'd assume this effect will have a similar shelf-life."

The prospect of three or even four days with their own, individual, Tsukunes made Mizore, Yukari, and Kurumu smile brightly. Ruby was also inwardly happy about it, but Moka seemed to be the opposite, clearly agitated and concerned by everything, and also deeply confused. Ruby knew she'd have to manage this situation carefully not to set Moka off on a path that didn't lead to Ruby's ultimate goal for them all.

"So, three, maybe four days?"

Tsurara looked just as pleased with this idea as her daughter, and much smugger about it as well.

Across from her, Ageha looked downright lascivious about the prospects for her own daughter and her particular Tsukune.

"Um….won't this be a particularly interesting vacation?"

Her usual rival nodded in agreement.

"Um…let's hope so."

If either could feel the glaring red eyes looking at them from the other end of the table it wasn't because the owner of those brightly glowing orbs was trying to hide her angry glare from them.

* * *

"You're not really mad at me…..are you, Ruby-chan?"

Again Ruby rubbed her face and forehead with her slightly wet hands as she looked back at her weary looking expression in the ladies room mirror before her.

Beside her, where she had just finished washing her own hands, Yukari alternated from nervously looking at Ruby for reassurance and nervously looking at the floor when she found none.

"I most certainly should be."

Yukari winced with these words of rebuke from her much-respected spiritual Onee-san.

Ruby hung her head down and focused on the silver drain in the porcelain sink before her.

"I can't imagine what went through your head when you decided to so rashly do this thing."

She even heard Yukari whimper now. She cut her eyes sideways at the girl before cracking a wry smile on her face.

She then decided that she had chastised the younger witch enough.

"But no, I'm not mad at you."

Yukari's eyes tripled in size before she begged for confirmation.

"REALLY?"

Ruby nodded slightly and Yukari's smile began to beam across her face.

Ruby sighed mildly and turned slightly towards the younger witch.

"Frankly, other than the questionable choice to initiate the spell in the first place, the execution of it was brilliantly done."

The unexpected praise sent the already exuberant witch to near soaring heights.

"You really think so?"

Ruby smirked down at her and nodded again after a long pause for dramatic effect.

"I wouldn't say that if I didn't, especially considering how your rash decision to proceed can still make it all blow up in our faces."

That last part brought Yukari back down to Earth quickly.

"I….I'm…I'm sorry Ruby-chan."

Now she suddenly felt that she needed to defend her actions to the slightly older witch.

"I just got so mad at them fighting, AGAIN! Then I thought Kurumu has already confirmed he's in love with all of us, so if I do this now it will…well….it would show them all…."

The unimpressed look on Ruby's face made Yukari finally give up on trying to justify her actions.

Seeing the younger witch again with a distraught expression on her face, Ruby let out a mild sigh and turned back to look at herself in the mirror before taking on some of the blame herself.

"It's my own fault for reminding you of that spell in the first place."

Yukari looked as if she were going to protest Ruby's innocence but stopped as Ruby continued.

"It would have been better to have waited to confirm that Tsukune-kun would indeed separate into different versions of himself first. No telling what could have happened if that weren't the case. We got lucky Yukari-chan."

Yukari also knew as much and admitted so.

"I…I know, sorry."

The two had discussed this spell and its possible use in combination with Tsukune's unique shinso powers, combined with his affections for each girl, to produce the exact effect that indeed had just occurred.

Ruby, however, was of the opinion that further confirmation of Tsukune's shinso powers needed to be determined before proceeding.

She had also wanted to wait for another condition to change before trying it on him as well.

"And it would have been significantly better to have waited until we had made…..HER ready for this revelation. As it stands she currently won't even accept the possibility that he could be in love with all of us. Her mother and her sister have just died and her father is missing, maybe dead, and she already had to be concerned that the man she loved was really in love with…..frankly, her own mother. This WASN'T the time to force this on her."

Yukari was pouting again now in her own misery.

"I…I know. I'm really sorry."

Ruby sighed again at her but gave her a reassuring smile as she patted her loving on the head.

"Well, what's done is done, but you and I must now keep a tight lid on the other girls and all these other versions of Tsukune in order not to give Moka a reason to give into her darker concerns."

Ruby's expression darkened again as she continued to lay out their difficulties with this situation.

"Not to mention two rather formidable mothers who will do anything to get their daughters as Tsukune's only love interest."

This also made Yukari frown now.

"This 'vacation' has suddenly become a lot of work. Sorry."

Ruby suppressed the urge to tease her now properly contrite friend about how she had only herself to blame for that.

"We're fortunate she has reacted as well as she has, so far."

A sudden voice beyond the locked ladies room door broke their train of thought,

"Open up, I have to pee!"

The familiar voice reached their ears and Ruby nodded for Yukari to unlock the door. When she did, a blue blur shoved her aside rudely.

"Move it!"

Kurumu whipped past Ruby as well and bolted the door to the water closet. Even through the rather thick door both girls heard the sudden splash of water hitting water and the accompanying sigh of relief.

The two witches had to avoid letting her hear them snicker over her previous dire "predicament".

About a minute later Kurumu emerged and began washing her hands as the other two watched.

A moment later, she directed an angry glare at Yukari before speaking to her directly.

"You want Silver to think we're having a Tsukune Lovers convention in here or what?"

Seeing Yukari's equally angry and confused look, Kurumu upper her irritation level as she explained her meaning.

"Go on!"

"…..rude!"

Yukari pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at the succubus who seemed to now be ignoring her presence entirely as she dried her hands.

"She's right Yukari-chan."

Ruby now spoke to the younger witch with an apologetic tone.

"We don't want to draw suspicions. Best go help Mizore-chan run interference."

At first looking rather betrayed by this, Yukari recovered quickly and made a sneering remark.

"Only because YOU asked me too!"

Then in a huff she left the room. If Kurumu paid any attention to the verbal barb leveled at her by Yukari, she didn't show it at all.

"So, you two figure out how to make this whole thing not blow up in our faces yet?"

Ruby was surprised for a moment by this pertinent question, but Kurumu added on quickly afterwards.

"I'm assuming this was planned by you?"

Ruby looked rather uncomfortable now as she tried to answer Kurumu's question.

"Yes, and no. This was to have happened sometime in the relative distant future, so….."

Kurumu asked a sarcastic sounding question now.

"Some underage idiot got impatient and jumped the gun?"

Ruby resisted the urge to defend Yukari and only nodded in response.

"So, let me guess. We have to be on our best behavior for Silver's sake now, right?"

The rather pensive looking witch nodded as she spoke.

"It wouldn't hurt, but not so well behaved as to seem odd to her. She does expect a certain level of….tension, from some of us."

Kurumu's sneer of derision was nearly comical to behold, as if she smelled something truly foul in the air.

To her credit though, she said nothing further about that.

Instead, she had another question for Ruby.

"Did you notice how distracted she became when Kokoa showed up with her…..ahem…. mother's Tsukune?"

Ruby reluctantly nodded that she indeed had witnessed her odd reaction, but left it at that.

A second later it was Ruby's turn to ask her succubus friend a question.

"How are you?"

Kurumu sent her back a suspicious look so Ruby explained her question in greater detail for her.

"I couldn't help but noticed that before your own Tsukune version came out you seemed rather despondent over….Shinso Tsukune and Moka."

Kurumu seemed even more confused now.

"…Shinso Tsukune?"

Then a light bulb in her mind went off and she had a Eureka moment when she realized Ruby was referring to Moka-san's silver haired version of Tsukune, the first one to emerge from the portal. She now also understood the meaning behind the question.

"Oh! Right! Well yeah, that's because I couldn't sense him. That kind of sudden loss of mental communication freaks a mate of fate out, you know?"

Ruby responded in a serious manner.

"I can only imagine."

Next Ruby kept probing her with additional questions.

"So…..do you and your Tsukune have….."

"Yeah….well, yes, but…."

The strange hesitation in Kurumu's answer put a suspicious look on Ruby's face now. Seeing that look, Kurumu tried to explain herself.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you had went back in my mind and put another seal up on the other side. The side where I get his thoughts."

"How so?"

Now Ruby was clearly very interested and Kurumu felt compelled to provide more details to her witch friend.

"He's there! I mean, I can feel him, but….."

Kurumu clearly didn't feel she was explaining this in a way that was easy to understand and took a deep breath to steady her thoughts before proceeding.

"It's like someone turned the 'volume' way down on the link between us."

Seeing Ruby's interested look, she continued.

"Where before I could easily 'hear' him, now it's like it's so low that it's more like faint background music."

Kurumu sighed rather happily before finishing her explanation.

"To be honest, after the last week, this and the seal are like I'm taking a spa day, or relaxing on a beach."

Ruby now smirked back at her before teasing her gently.

"I had noticed that you were relatively quiet before, for you."

Kurumu rolled her eyes at her as a response, but Ruby was quickly onto her next question.

"So, anything with the other Tsukunes?"

Kurumu shook her head from side to side.

"Nope, nothing. It's like it was before Tsukune and I kissed in Reverse Hong Kong."

The wheels in Ruby's mind were obviously now spinning if judged by the quizzical look on her face.

"Interesting."

Kurumu almost dreaded asking her to explain, fearing the answer. Ask she did though.

"Why?"

Ruby snapped out of her thoughts to ask Kurumu a related question.

"Would you say that the 'volume' change between normal Tsukune and this version of Tsukune that loves just you was….one-sixth normal in intensity?"

Kurumu's eyes narrowed as she stared at Ruby suspiciously, but she gave her as honest an answer to that that she could provide.

"I suppose you could put it that way."

Ruby immediately revealed her thinking on the topic to her friend.

"Then perhaps the other five Tsukunes took their portion of the link between you with them, but only your Tsukune retained the actual mental 'equipment' needed to communicate with you."

Kurumu still looked at her with a mixture of suspicion and concern showing on her face.

"Perhaps. Is that significant?"

Ruby shrugged back with an apologetic expression.

"Perhaps, but it's nothing I think we have to worry about in the immediate future."

Kurumu nodded vaguely in response, then reminded Ruby that their absence from the main hall might have already been noted.

"We should get back now."

Instead of agreeing, Ruby stopped Kurumu's movement toward the door with her words.

"One more thing."

She clearly was uncomfortable about what she planned to say next. Her following words explained why she'd feel that way.

"It's about Ageha-san and Tsurara-san."

Kurumu's lips twisted up into an understanding wry smile, but she let Ruby finish.

"Is there anything that Mizore-chan and you could do to…well…"

Kurumu almost laughed as she finished her friend's obvious question for her.

"Get them not to piss Moka off so much?"

Ruby awkwardly nodded.

Kurumu plastered on as serious an expression as she could muster under the circumstances and gave an earnest sounding answer.

"I suppose we could kill them, otherwise…"

At first Ruby took her seriously and was stunned, but she quickly realized Kurumu was, at least partially, jesting with this answer.

Ruby shrugged reluctantly with a pretend sadness on her face now before replying.

"That's what I was afraid of."

Both laughed as they exited the ladies room.

* * *

Right before Tsurara and her rather unhappy looking assistant Ageha had served them their dinners, Tsurara had allowed the four Tsukunes she had iced into the wall to go free with the promise they wouldn't encourage further violence again. This time she made each promise her verbally, and their favorite girl as well.

Since he had tried to murder another Tsukune, Shinso Tsukune had to watch silently as the others ate dinner from his place on the ceiling.

In solidarity with her Tsukune, despite also being very angry at him over his previous homicide attempt, Moka said she would eat with him once Tsurara decided he should go free too.

That this encouraged her to speed up his release from confinement right after the others finished dinner was doubtful given Tsurara's personality.

He had to give additional assurances beyond what the others had, but he at least seemed properly contrite now, even though all five of them refused to be anywhere near Moka-chan's Tsukune. Luckily Moka-chan's Tsukune had segregated himself from the others for dinner, with Kokoa being his lone table companion.

All the other girls noticed Moka's interest and concern for this version of Tsukune, despite his emotional allegiance to the other, now supposedly dead, version of her.

Now with Moka and her Tsukune finished with their dinners as well Tsurara stood up to speak to them all.

She waved Moka-chan's Tsukune and Kokoa to come over and they reluctantly complied, but still sat apart from the others.

As he approached, the other Tsukunes pretended they either smelled something disgusting or tried to ignore his existence entirely.

Tsurara ignored their continued rudeness to him as she spoke.

"We have two final issues we must deal with this evening before we all settle down for the night."

Hearing no immediate objections, she continued.

"The first is where you all will be sleeping during this trip. Originally I was going to let our Tsukune-kun sleep in one of the suites like Ageha, but since I am currently the only indoor staff here at the lodge, and I certainly have no intention to clean up additional suites for the other five Tsukunes, that plan has gone by the wayside."

She paused just long enough for anyone who wanted to speak up to do so, and when they didn't she continued.

"My original plan was for you six girls to use futons upstairs around the hearth. We could do the same with the boys…."

The males present began to murmur and complain about that idea with statements like "over my dead body" and "when hell freezes over" being whispered just loud enough for their mutual disdain for each other and the potential trouble that could bring if forced to bed down too closely together registered with the ladies.

"SINCE…"

Tsurara said loudly to quiet their mumbling gripes.

"….that seems to be…. 'problematic', I am open to suggestions. Please raise your hand if you wish to speak."

To the ladies' mutual surprise all the Tsukunes' hands, save the one sitting apart with Kokoa, darted up into the sky.

Tsurara nearly sighed in frustration before pointing on Shinso Tsukune.

"Whatever is decided, I will not sleep in the same room as THAT abomination!"

His finger darted to the Tsukune beside Kokoa who only smiled back sadly at his counterpart.

Moka was about to chastise her Tsukune when the other four all agreed with him.

"No, no, and again no. I will not share space with that…THING."

"I must agree, he is discord personified I am afraid to say."

"I'd rather sleep in a pit of vipers!"

"It really is too bad we didn't 'handle' him already."

This resulted in a similar cacophony of confused and angry replies from their female companions.

"Why are all of you so cruel to him?"

"He seems to be the nicest one of all of you."

"I can't believe that any part of Tsukune-kun would be this mean, much less five parts of him."

"This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen or heard!"

"I can't believe you are any part of my Tsukune."

Despite their love interests mutual anger at their unfathomable cruelty to one of the own, the five Tsukunes were adamant that they would not share a room with that particular version under any circumstances. Their mutual loathing of "her" Tsukune was the one thing those five could even seem to agree on.

"Fine, we will make other arrangements for him."

Even the normally placid Tsurara had become frustrated with them and was ready to move on. She sighed and finally sat down.

"Suggestions?"

Moka was the first to speak up.

"All of us can sleep on futons around the hearth upstairs."

By the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, Moka was the last person in the room expected to suggest a "cohabitation" sleeping arrangement.

Ageha and Tsurara exchanged suspicious but amused expressions before Moka clarified her proposal.

"We obviously won't be sleeping beside the Tsukunes that favor us though."

She clearly expected the angry responses this proposal received and sat calmly to wait for it to all die down.

"Silence rabble! The Goddess is speaking to you! Be grateful to receive her wisdom!"

Her Tsukune was…. "unique" in his fervor for her, to say the least. His angry command silenced the crowd so that she could continue.

"If we have two Tsukunes on either side of us that want nothing to do with us then there are no chances any…..illicit activities can occur."

Most of the younger folk at the table seemed less than enthused by the proposed lack of "illicit activities" this arrangement would impose on them.

"I think that's acceptable, how about you?"

Ageha twisted her lips at Tsurara's question.

"I suppose it will have to do."

Tsurara turned to address everyone else now.

"Fine, the eleven of you can sleep upstairs together. I'm sure with Moka and Kokoa there your behavior will all be boringly exemplary."

"Just ten of us."

Moka's next statement caused some obvious confusion. She moved to clarify her statement instantly.

"Whatever arrangement we make for him."

Her eyes drifted to where Kokoa sat with Moka-chan's Tsukune.

"Kokoa will accompany him."

Now the other girls at the table became truly agitated, but before they could blurt out anything Ruby endorsed Moka's suggestion.

"I think that's a splendid idea."

Beside her even Yukari was surprised by this endorsement.

"You do?"

Seeing that Mizore and Kurumu were about to burst with indignation, Moka jumped in before they could launch a counterattack.

"Were we just supposed to let him suffer alone in silence while the rest of us enjoy ourselves?"

Kurumu quickly recovered and pointed to where Moka's sister now sat in shock.

"Why…..her?"

Moka didn't even seem put off by the succubus's obvious anger and simply answered Kurumu in a haughty but calm tone.

"The rest of us will be busy with our own Tsukune's. That will make it difficult to attend to him as well."

Now recovered himself, Moka-chan's Tsukune finally spoke up.

"Ladies, I will truly be fine on my own."

Shinso Tsukune took the opportunity to latch on to that statement.

"There's no need to subject your lovely sister to the torture of watching over that THING my Goddess."

"Hey! He's a person you know!"

Kokoa's anger was apparent as she was on her feet now ready to confront Shinso Tsukune. Beside her Moka-chan's Tsukune tried to get her to sit back down.

"Ara! Ara! Someone seems not to mind the idea of spending time alone with the young man so much."

Ageha and Tsurara both sent her teasing glares which further infuriated her while also making her skin flush in embarrassment.

"It's not that! It's just….I…"

Moka saved her sister from further discomfort by again reinforcing her position.

"It's my requirement for any of this 'vacation' to continue."

Kokoa still felt compelled to explain herself to her sister.

"Onee-sama, I…."

Moka however was laser focused on everyone at her own table.

"Otherwise Kokoa and I will leave immediately and I will take all the Tsukunes with me, whether they want to go or not."

Tsurara sent the young but determined vampire an interesting smile now and teased her a bit to boot.

"Ara! Ara! Now there are threats?"

Kurumu was clearly enraged now and brewing for a confrontation.

"Where do you get off…."

Moka firmly cut her off.

"I have made my mind clear on this."

Once again Ruby weighed in on Moka's side, with a pleading expression for the others to let this one go.

"I support Moka's position on this. He shouldn't be alone, even if that is what he wants."

She exchanged an awkward smile with Moka-chan's Tsukune then, who smiled back meekly through his powerful embarrassment.

"So SHE, is going to sleep with Tsukune? That's what you are proposing, right? That they SLEEP in the same ROOM….TOGETHER?"

Mizore now pointed at the equal parts angry and mortified Kokoa as her irritated expression was leveled at the strangely placid Moka.

"And Ageha-san."

This sudden "grenade" from the older vampire girl threw the whole table into an uproar.

"WHAT?"

Even Ageha was clearly flustered by this shocking addendum to Moka's original suggestion.

"ME? Ara! Ara!"

Moka let everyone shout themselves back to a relatively calm level before explaining.

"She already has a suite set aside for her, so no additional work for Tsurara-san. Kokoa can sleep with Ageha in the bed and….Tsukune, can sleep on a futon on the floor."

"And why does SHE get a Tsukune?"

For the first time Tsurara seemed actually put off by all of this, which set her rival off on a self-aggrandizing smirking session.

"Jealous much?"

Before that confrontation could start, Moka quickly changed her position again.

"Fine, you can alternate nights with Kokoa and him. That's fine with me."

Now it was Tsurara's chance to smirk at Ageha's irritation.

"Now I really don't like this idea."

Ageha and Tsurara sent their mutual daughters looks of rebuke as they spoke in stereo with less than thrilled expressions on their own faces.

"Onee-sama, I…."

Kokoa understood what her sister wanted from her here, to keep this Tsukune from doing anything rash to himself in misery over the loss of Moka-chan, but she still felt she needed to put up a protest for the sake of it.

"You will do as I ask, won't you Imouto?"

That killed any protest attempt dead in its tracks.

"As you wish, Onee-sama."

She meekly returned to her seat beside the version of Tsukune she had been charged by her beloved sister to protect. The look on his face was placid, but she could tell all of this meant nothing to him in the long run.

He seemed to hate being a burden.

He seemed to hate…..being.

And she hated how much that made her want to make him not hate…being.

The truth was that the sudden idea of being alone in a suite with him was both terrifying and exciting.

What it wasn't was what she knew it should be to her.

It wasn't at all revolting, not in the least.

She could feel the ice-cold eyes of Kurumu and Mizore on her. Probing. Looking for signs of….

They made her feel naked.

" _Don't think you know my heart either you trolls!"_

When it was announced that the elder women would join them, she had felt great relief, and even greater disappointment.

* * *

"He'll be up soon."

Ageha, in a ridiculously revealing night gown combed her hair before a mirror in self admiration as she teased the angry young vampire who pouted in pajamas from the edge of the bed they would reluctantly share together for two of the next four nights.

"Are you ready for him?"

Kokoa glared back at the older woman's teasing tone.

"Aren't you a bit TOO ready for him?"

Ageha clearly wasn't the least bit concerned that her outfit would show a teenage boy far to much of her feminine physique.

"Ara, ara! Such anger. Surely you don't resent having to sleep near a handsome young man?"

Kokoa bit her lips as her mind screamed a sudden answer in reply that her lips would never impart.

" _No, I resent you being here, Cow!"_

Then why she realized what she had allowed her mind to say. It hit her like an iron gauntlet across the face.

" _What are you saying? IDIOT!"_

She knew by the increasing smirk on the older woman's face that her facial expressions were betraying some of her inner turmoil and she quickly responded in a far too late attempt at cover up.

"Please! This is work! I am doing what my Onee-sama needs me to do."

Ageha smirked over her shoulder at the protesting young vampire with a disbelieving expression.

"Oh! I see, Onee-sama has given you a burdensome task that you must diligently see to completion."

Sarcasm laced her words.

"Well, while you're…..um….. 'working', try not to interfere with my 'play' time."

Kokoa's skin bristled at these words.

"Part of the work my Onee-sama gave me was to make sure you don't get any 'play' time with this Tsukune, and trust me, you WON'T."

Ageha just laughed before teasing her companion a bit more.

"Ara, ara! We shall see about that my dear."

Before things between them could become more heated, a soft rap of knuckles tapped their suite down three times.

"One moment!"

Ageha stood up, pushed her ridiculously huge mammary glands up and together to produce even more cleavage for tender young eyes to see. Wet her lips with her tongue and then gave herself an approving nod and a wink.

" _Disgusting old Cow."_

Kokoa, of course, knew that Ageha was anything but disgusting, at least from a physical standpoint; but having her act like she was about to seduce a teenage boy made Kokoa deeply angry.

Angrier than she knew it should make her, especially for this particular teenage boy's sake.

"Here."

Ageha caught the robe Kokoa flung at her with a questioning look, which made Kokoa strike back harshly.

"He's seventeen woman. Have some pride."

Instead of pissing her off like she had wanted to do, Ageha smirked with a glint in her eye and put the robe on.

When Kokoa opened the door the still kimono clad Tsurara was there with a pajama and robe wearing Tsukune behind her, who looked mortified to be here.

"Come in dear! Come in!"

Ageha brushed Kokoa aside like a cobweb in her way and pulled Tsukune by the arm past a comically smirking Tsurara.

"Really?"

Ageha turned back to see Tsurara covering her mouth with her hand to suppress an amused giggle.

"I guess what one can't achieve with grace and elegance one tries to make up for in…. 'volume'."

Kokoa saw a brief flash of anger on the succubus's face before she smiled back at her yukionna rivals still smiling expression.

"Men do like grace and elegance in a woman, but those of us with…. 'volume', don't even need that. Luckily, I have all that and more."

Then, before Tsurara could retort, Ageha almost slammed the door in her face.

"Now then."

Turning around she beamed at the still reluctant Tsukune, who to both women present mutual surprise was bowed over.

"Please forgive this rude intrusion. Again, I apologize for being a burden."

Before Kokoa could even think of something to say back, the older woman present was already on him and pulling him upright.

"Burden?"

Her purring voice permeated the room and she drew the now upright and stunned Tsukune's face even further into her heaving cleavage.

"Having you as our companion is a pure delight my future son-in-law!"

Kokoa knew succubi were weird about family relations, but she also knew a son-in-law, of the present or future varieties, should never be that close to their Mother-in-law's private areas.

For his part, Tsukune looked like his nose was about to hemorrhage blood.

"Let him breathe!"

With these words Kokoa pulled the stupefied Tsukune from his would-be future Mother-in-laws breasts just in time to avoid blood loss.

" _Last thing I need tonight is a good whiff of his super delicious blood."_

She was honest enough with herself to admit his amazingly tasty blood was a weakness for her.

"Well….."

The older woman never missed a beat.

"Shall we bed down for the night?"

Tsukune nodded and looked around for his futon.

"I don't see my bedding though."

"It's in the closet."

Tsukune moved in the direction Kokoa indicated but then suddenly was stopped by Ageha's firm grasp on his shoulders.

"Don't be silly! This bed is huge! We'll all fit, very comfortably."

Kokoa almost babbled out her stunned response.

"NO! No we won't!"

For his part Tsukune seemed stunned by the idea, which only got worse as his eyes beheld what Ageha had been hiding under the robe that was now on the floor.

As she laid down on the bed in a rather seductive pose that showed off her exquisite legs even Kokoa was stunned into silence temporarily.

"Well, if you're uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangements, why don't YOU use the futon and Tsukune-kun and momma will keep each other warm."

Lacking the words at that moment to reply, Tsukune finally saved Kokoa the need to carry this ridiculous conversation with his own response.

"Really I should use the…."

Before he could finish Ageha had pulled him onto the bed and half crawled on top of him. With her hand on his chest and his eyes locked into the cleavage gap just centimeters form his mouth Ageha purred a plea to him.

"And catch a cold sleeping on that hard floor? None of the girls would ever forgive me. Come along dear. No more arguing. It's bed time."

Apparently, it was all too much of this version of Tsukune, probably any version of Tsukune, to resist any longer. He seemed to go into some form of Blue Screen of Death mode as the very happy older Succubus pulled the overs over them and wrapped herself around the near catatonic looking teenage boy.

From her place ensconced inside his stiff body, with her head on his chest she smirked back at the young vampire.

"Well, are you getting in or grabbing the futon?"

Kokoa, who also was stunned up till this point, frowned in anger and darted into the bed with a fury, prying the succubus from Tsukune by using her body as a wedge between them.

Once in the middle, she angrily called over her shoulder as she glared at the still smirking succubus.

"Make sure you keep your hands to yourself!"

Tsukune, now seeming alive again, meekly replied.

"Of course."

Then in a much lower and ominous tone she spoke to the far too amused older woman.

"And you too!"

Ageha beamed back at her in the most irritating way then.

"Ara, ara! Look at you."

That teasing look that was driving Kokoa into further fury contained something even more irritating for the young vampire.

There seemed to be just a tad bit of respect showing on the older woman's face.

"I make no promises dear. Good night."

Kokoa, lodged between the lusty succubus and the all too tempting young man beside her, didn't go to sleep for hours.


End file.
